
Class IP3^07 
Book > 12.4^ 

FHI^HI^N'TED BY 



ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY OF TRAVEL 



TRAVELS IN ARABIA 



COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY 

BAYARD TAYLOR 



REVISED BY 

THOMAS STEVENS 



MARTIN C. WALKER, 
420 B Street, N. E. 



NEW YORK 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

1892 



1^^;* 



<l 



V 



CorVRlGHT, 1881, 1892, BY 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

Qirt from 
lilr &Mrs. L. O. Jeifer^ 



TROW DIRECTORY 

PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPAN 
NEW YORK 



REVISER'S NOTE 



The continuance of Bajard Taylor's Library of 
Travel in the popular favor is one of the accepted 
facts of the literary world. So much so, indeed, 
that a revision of his works on the part of another is 
to be permitted only on certain conditions of reserve, 
and by reason of events that have transpired since 
the death of the distinguished traveller. 

Travellers and authors die ; but the tribes, nations, 
and races visited by them continue on, making war 
or peace, changing frontiers, setting up or pulling 
down dynasties. 

The whole political complexion of a country may 
be changed in a decade. Though the people of 
Arabia, the genuine Bedouins, are believed to have 
changed little or nothing in their mode of life since 
the days of the Shepherd Kings of Abraham's time, 
waves of political and religious agitation have occa- 
sionally rippled over one part or another of the an- 
cient peninsula. Seemingly they make as little 
permanent impression on the undercurrent of Bed- 
ouin life, as do the waves of the sea on its immutable 
whole, so that the accounts of the earlier chroniclers 
of Arabian life and manners agree in a singular man- 
ner with the descriptions of contemporary visitors. 
For this reason, no less than for the respect and ad- 



iv REVISER'S NOTE 

miration entertained by the reviser for Mr. Taylor's 
conscientiousness and judgment as a traveller and 
compiler, and his literary excellence as an authoi-, 
this volume remains, practically, as fully the work of 
its orio-inal editor as before. 

By way of bringing it up to date, however, Chap- 
ter XYII. has been added, and such slight revision 
of preceding chapters has been made as was found 
necessary, consistent with the scope and intention of 
the new edition. 

Thomas Stevens. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I. PAGE 

Sketch of Arabia : its Geographical Position, and 

Ancient History, 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Early Explorers of Arabia, . . . . . 8 



CHAPTER III. 
Niebuhr's Travels in Yemen, 14 

CHAPTER IV. 
Burckhardt's Journey to Mecca and Medina, . . 29 

CHAPTER V. 
Wellsted's Explorations in Oman, .... 40 

CHAPTER VI. 
Wellsted's Discovery of an Ancient City in Had- 

ramatjt, 55 

CHAPTER VII. 
Burton's Pilgrimage, 62 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Palgrave's Travels in Central Arabia : from Pales- 
tine TO THE Djowf, 83 



VI CONTENTS 

CHAPTER IX. PAGE 

Palgkave's Travels — Residence in the Djowf, . 107 

CHAPTER X. 
Palgrave's Travels— Crossing the Nefood, . . 127 

CHAPTER XI. 
Palgrave's Travels— Life in Ha'yel 138 

CHAPTER XII. 
Palgrave's Travels— Journey to Bereydah, . .176 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Palgrave's Travels — Journey to Ri'ad the Capital 

OF Nedjed, ......... 201 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Palgrave's Travels— Adventures in Ri'ad, . . 217 

CHAPTER XV. 
Palgrave's Travels — His Escape to the Eastern 

Coast, 240 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Palgrave's Travels— Eastern Arabia, . . . 259 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Lady Blunt's Pilgrimage to Nejd, .... 279 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

A Night March on the Arabian Desert, . Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

Coffee Hills of Yemen, 19 

View op El-Medina, 39 

A Valley in Oman, 51 

Ruins of Nakab-El-Hadjar, in Hadramaut, . . 59 

View op Medina from the West, . . . . 69 

Camp at Mount Arafat, 77 

Costume of Pilgrims to Mecca, 81 

William Gifford Palgrave, 84 

An Arab Chief, 105 

Captain Burton as a Pilgrim, 129 

The Village of El-Suwayrkiyah, .... 184 

An Arab Encampment, • • 190 

Death on the Desert, . . . . • . • 208 



TRAVELS IN ARABIA 



CHAPTER I. 

SKETCH OF ARABIA: ITS GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, 
AND ANCIENT HISTORY 

THE Peninsula of Arabia, forming the extreme 
soutliwestern corner of Asia, is partly de- 
tached, both in a geographical and historical sense, 
from the remainder of the continent. Although 
parts of it are mentioned in the oldest historical rec- 
ords, and its shores were probably familiar to the 
earliest navigators, the greater portion of its terri- 
tory has always remained almost inaccessible and un- 
known. 

The desert lying between Syria and the Euphra- 
tes is sometimes included by geographers as belong- 
ing to Arabia, but a line drawn from the Dead Sea 
to the mouth of the Euphrates (almost coinciding 
with the parallel of 30° 1^.) would more nearly repre- 
sent the northern boundary of the peninsula. As 
the most southern point of the Arabian coast reaches 
the latitude of 12° 40', the greater part of the entire 
territory, of more than one million square miles, lies 
within the tropics. In shape it is an irregular rhom- 
boid, the longest diameter, from Suez to the Cape 



2 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

El-Had, in Oman, being 1,660, and from the Eu- 
phrates to the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, 1,400 
miles. 

The entire coast region of Arabia, on the Red 
Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulfs of Oman and 
Persia, is, for the most part, a belt of fertile coun- 
try, inhabited by a settled, semi-civilized population. 
Back of this belt, which varies in width from a few 
miles to upward of a hundred, commences a des- 
ert table-land, occasionally intersected by mountain 
chains, and containing in the interior many fertile 
valleys of considerable extent, which are inhabited. 
Yery little has been known of this great interior re- 
gion until the present century. 

The ancient geographei-s divided Arabia into three 
parts — Arabia PetrcBa, or the Rocky, comprising the 
northwestern portion, inchiding the Sinaitic penin- 
sula, between the Gulfs of Suez and Akaba ; Arabia 
Deser'ta, the great central desert ; and Ai^abia Felix, 
the Happy, by which they appear to have designated 
the southwestern part, now known as Yemen. The 
modern Arabic geography, which has been partly 
adopted on our maps, is based, to some extent, on 
the political divisions of the country. The coast re- 
gion along the Red Sea, down to a point nearly half 
way between Jedda and the Straits of Bab-el-Man- 
deb, and including the holy cities of Medina and 
Mecca, is called the Hedjaz. Yemen, the capital of 
which is Sana, and the chief seaports Mocha, Hodeida, 
and Loheia, embraces all the southwestern portion of 
the peninsula. The southern coast, although divided 
into various little chiefdoms, is known under the 



SKETCH OF ARABIA 3 

general name of Hadrainant. Tlie kingdom of 
Oman lias extended itself along the eastern shore, 
nearly to the head of the Persian Gulf. The north- 
ern oases, the seat of the powerful sect of the Waha- 
bees, are called Nedjed ; and the unknown southern 
interior, which is believed to be almost wholly desert, 
inhabited only by a few wandering Bedouins, is 
known as the Dahna or Akhaf. 

Arabia has been inhabited by the same race since 
the earliest times, and has changed less, in the course 
of thousands of years, than any other country of the 
globe, not excepting China. According to Biblical 
genealogy, the natives are descended from Ham, 
tlirough Cush ; but the Bedouins have always claimed 
that they are the posterity of Ishmael. Some por- 
tions of the country, such as Edom, or Idumsea, Te- 
man, and Sheba (the modern Yemen), are mentioned 
in the Old Testament ; but neither the Babylonian, 
Assyrian, Persian, nor Egyptian monarchies suc- 
ceeded in gaining possession of the peninsula. Alex- 
ander the Great made preparations for a journey of 
conquest, which was prevented by his death, and 
Trajan was the only Roman emperor who penetrated 
into the interior. 

The inhabitants were idolaters, whose religion 
had probably some resemblance to that of the Phoe- 
nicians. After the destruction of Jerusalem, both 
Jews and Christians found their way thither, and 
made proselytes. There were Jews in Medina, Mec- 
ca, and Yemen ; and even the last Hymyaritic king 
of the latter country became a convert to Mosaic 
faith. Thus the strength of the ancient religion was 



4 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

already weakened when Mohammed was born (a.d. 
570) ; and tliere are strong evidences for the conject- 
nre tliat the demoralization of both Jews and Chris- 
tians, resulting from their long enmity, was the chief 
cause which prevented Mohammed from adopting the 
belief of the latter. At the time of his birth, the 
civilization of the dominant Arab ti'ibes was little 
inferior to that of Europe or the Eastern Empire. 
There was already an Arabic literature ; and the arts 
and sciences of the ancient world had found their 
way even to the oases of Nedjed. 

The union of the best and strongest elements in 
the i-ace which followed the establishment of the 
new religion, gave to men of Arabian blood a part to 
play in the history of the world. For six hundred 
years after Mohammed's death Islam and Christen- 
dom were nearly equal powers, and it is difficult, 
even now, to decide which contributed the more to 
the arts from which modern civilization has sprung. 
Arabia flourished, as never before, under the Ca- 
liphs ; yet it does not appear that the life of the 
inhabitants was materially changed, or that any 
growth, acquired during the new importance of the 
country, became permanent. Its commerce was re- 
stricted to the products of its narrow belt of fertile 
shore ; an arid desert separated it from Bagdad and 
Syria ; none of the lines of traffic between Europe 
and the East Indies traversed its territory, and thus 
it remained comparatively unknown to the Christian 
world. 

After the downfall of the Caliphate the tribes re- 
lapsed into their former condition of independent 



8KETGR OF ARABIA 5 

chiefdoms, and the old hostilities, which had been 
partially suppressed for some centuries, again re- 
vived. In the sixteenth century the Turks obtained 
possession of Hedjaz and Yemen ; the Portuguese 
held Muscat for a hundred and fifty years, and the 
Persians made some tempoi'aiy conquests, but the 
vast interior region easily maintained its indepen- 
dence. The deserts, which everywhere intervene be- 
tween its large and fertile valleys and the seacoast, 
are the home of wandering Bedouin tribes, whose 
only occupation is plunder — whose hand is against 
every man's and every man's hand against them. 
Thus they serve as a body-guard even to their own 
enemies. 

The long repose and seclusion of Central Arabia 
was first broken during the present century. It may 
be well to state, very briefly, the circumstances which 
led to it, since they will explain the great difficulty 
and danger which all modern explorers must en- 
counter. Early in the last century, an Arabian 
named Abd el-Wahab, scandalized at what he be- 
lieved to be the corruption of the Moslem faith, began 
preaching a Reformation. He advocated the slaugh- 
ter or forcible conversion of heretics, the most rigid 
forms of fasting and prayer, the disuse of tobacco, 
and various other changes in the Oriental habits of 
life. Having succeeded in converting the chief of 
Nedjed, Mohammed Ibu-Saoud, he took up his resi- 
dence in Derreyeh, the capital, which thenceforth 
became the rendezvous for all his followers, who 
were named Wahabees. They increased to such an 
extent that their authority became supreme through- 



6 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

out Central Arabia, and the successor of Ibu-Saoud 
was able to call an army of 100,000 men into the 
field, and defy the Ottoman power. 

.In the year 1803 the Wahabees took and plundered 
Mecca, and slew great numbers of the pilgrims who 
had gathered there. A second expedition against 
Medina failed, but the annual caravan of pilgrims 
was robbed and dispersed. Finally, in 1809, the 
Sultan transferi-ed to Mohammed Ali, of Egypt, the 
duty of suppressing this menacing religious and politi- 
cal rebellion. The first campaign in Arabia was a 
failure; the second, under Ibrahim Pasha, was suc- 
cessful. He overcame the Wahabees in 1818, capt- 
ured Derreyeh, and razed it to the ground. In 
1828 they began a second war against Turkey, but 
were again defeated. Since then they have refrained 
from any further aggressive movement, but tlieii- hos- 
tility and bigotry are as active as ever. The Waha- 
bee doctrine flatters the clannish and exclusive spirit 
of the race, and will probably prevent, for a long 
time, any easy communication between Arabia and 
the rest of the world. 

The greater part of our present knowledge of 
Arabia has been obtained since the opening of this 
century. The chief seaports and the route from 
Suez to Mt. Sinai were known during the Middle 
Ages, but all else was little better than a blank. 
Within the last fifty or sixty years the mountains of 
Edom have been explored, the rock-hewn city of 
Petra discovered, the holy cities of Medina and Mecca 
visited by intelligent Europeans ; Yemen, Hadra- 
maut, and Oman partly traversed ; and, last of all 



SKETCH OF ARABIA 7 

we have a verj clear and satisfactory account of Ned- 
jed and the other central regions of Arabia, by the 
intrepid English traveller, Mr. Palgrave. 

Thus, only the southern interior of the peninsula 
remains to be visited. The name given to it by the 
Arabs, Boha el-Khaly, " the abode of emptiness,'- 
no doubt describes its character. It is an inimense, 
undulating, sandy waste, dotted with scarce and 
small oases, which give water and slielter to the Bed- 
ouins, but without any large tract of habitable land, 
and consequently without cities, or other than the 
rudest forms of political organization. 



w 



CHAPTEE 11. 

EARLY EXPLORERS OF ARABIA 

HEN the habit of travel began to revive in 
the Middle Ages, its character was either 
religious or commercial, either in the form of pil- 
grimages to Rome, Palestine (whenever possible), 
and the shrines of popular saints, or of journeys to 
the Levant, Persia, and the Indies, with the object of 
acquiring wealth by traffic, the profits of which in- 
creased in the same proportion as its hazards. From 
the time of Trajan's expedition to Arabia (in a.d. 
117) down to the sixteenth century, we have no re- 
port of the history or condition of the conntrj' except 
such as can be drawn from the eai'lier Jewish and 
Christian traditions and the later Mohammedan rec- 
ords. 

The first account of a visit to Arabia which ap- 
pears to be worthy of credence, is that given by Lu- 
dovico Bartema, of Rome. After visiting Egypt, lie 
joined the cai-avan of pilgrims at Damascus, in 1503, 
in the company of a Mameluke captain, himself dis- 
guised as a Mameluke renegade. After several at- 
tacks from the Bedouins of the desert, the caravan 
reached Medina, which he desci'ibes as containing 
three hundred houses. Bartema gives a very correct 



EARLY EXPLORERS OF ARABIA 9 

description of the tomb of the Prophet, and scoffs at 
the then prevalent belief that the latter's coffin is 
suspended in the air between four lodestones. 

He thus describes an adventure which befell his 
company the same evening after their visit to the 
mosque. " At almost three of the night, ten or 
twelve of the elders of the sect of Mohammed en- 
tered into our caravan, which remained not past a 
stone's cast from the gate of the city. These ran 
hither and thither, crying like madmen with these 
words : ' Mohammed, the messenger and apostle of 
God, shall rise again ! O Prophet, O God, Moham- 
med shall rise again ! Have mercy on us, God ! ' 
Our captain and we, all raised with this cry, took 
weapon with all expedition, suspecting that the Arabs 
were come to rob our caravan. We asked what was 
the cause of that exclamation, and what they cried ? 
For they cried as do the Christians when suddenly 
any marvellous thing chanceth. The elders an- 
swered : ' Saw you not the lightning which shone out 
of the sepulchre of the Prophet Mohammed ? ' Our 
captain answered that he saw nothing, and we also 
being demanded, answered in like manner. Then 
said one of the old men : ' Are you slaves ? ' This 
to say bought men, meaning thereby, Mamelukes. 
Tiien said our captain : ' We are indeed Mamelukes.' 
Then again the old man said : ' You, my loi'ds, can- 
not see heavenly things, as being neophiti, that is, 
newly come to the faith, and not yet confirmed in 
our religion.' It is therefore to be understood that 
none other shining came out of the sepulchre than a 
certain flame, which the priests caused to come out 



10 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

of the open place of the tower, whereby they would 
have deceived iis." 

Leaving Medina, the cai-avan travelled for three 
days over a " broad plain," all covered with white 
sand, in manner as small as flour. Then they passed 
a mountain, where they heard " a certain horrible 
noise and cry," and after journeying for ten days 
longer, during which time they twice fought with 
" fifty thousand Arabians," they reached Mecca, of 
which Bartema says : " The city is very fair, and 
well inhabited, and containeth in round form six 
thousand houses as well builded as ours, and some 
that cost three or four thousand pieces of gold : it 
hath no walls." 

Bartema describes the ceremonies performed by 
the pilgrims with tolerable correctness. His fel- 
lowship with the Mamelukes seems to have been a 
complete protection up to the time when the caravan 
was ready to set out on its return to Damascus, and 
the members of the troop were ordered to accompany 
it, on pain of death. Then he managed to escape by 
persuading a Mohammedan that he understood the 
art of casting cannon, and wished to reach India, in 
order to assist tiie native monarchs in defending 
themselves against the Portuguese. Keaching Jedda 
in safety, Bartema sailed for Persia, visiting Yemen 
on the way ; made his way to India, and after vari- 
ous adventures, returned to Europe by way of the 
Cape of Good Hope. 

The second European who made his way to the 
holy cities was Josepli Pitts, an Englishman, who 
■was captured by an Algerine pirate, as a sailor-boy 



EARLY EXPLORERS OF ARABIA 11 

of sixteen, and forced by liis master to become a 
Massnlman. After some years, when he had ac- 
quired the Arabic and Turkish languages, he accom- 
panied his master for a pilgrimage to Mecca by 
way of Cairo, Suez, and the Red Sea. Here he re- 
ceived his freedom ; but continued with the pilgrims 
to Medina, and returned to Egypt by land, through 
Arabia Petrsea. After fifteen years of exile he suc- 
ceeded in escaping to Italy, and thence made his way 
back to England. 

Pitts gives a minute and generally correct account 
of the ceremonies at Mecca. He was not, of course, 
learned in Moslem theology, and his narrative, like 
that of all former visitors to Mecca, has been super- 
seded by the more intelligent description of Burc-k- 
liardt ; yet it coincides with the latter in all essential 
particulars. His description of the city and surround- 
ing scenery is worth quoting, from the quaint sim- 
plicity of its style. 

" First, as to Mecca. It is a town situated in a 
barren place (about one day's journey from the Red 
Sea), in a valley, or rather in the midst of many lit- 
tle hills. It is a place of no force, wanting both 
Avails and gates. Its buildings are, as I said before, 
very ordinary, insomuch that it would be a place of 
no tolerable entertainment, were it not for the anni- 
versary resort of so many thousand Hagges (Hadjis), 
or pilgrims, on whose coming the whole dependence 
of the town (in a manner) is ; for many shops are 
scarcely open all the year besides. 

" The people here, I observed, are a poor sort of 
people, very thin, lean and swarthy. The town is 



12 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

suiTounded for several miles with many thousands 
of little hills, which are very near one to the other. 
I have been on the top of some of them near Mecca, 
where I could see some miles about, yet was not able 
to see the fartliest of the hills. They are all stony- 
rock and blackish, and pretty near of a bigness, ap- 
pearing at a distance like cocks of haj', but all point- 
ing toward Mecca. Some of them are half a mile in 
circumference, but all near of one height. The peo- 
ple here have an odd and foolish sort of tradition con- 
cerning them, viz., that when Abraham went about 
building the Beat- Allah (Beit- Allah, or ' House of 
God '), God by his wonderful providence did so 
order it, that every mountain in the world should 
contribute something to the building thereof ; and 
accordingly every one did send its proportion, though 
there is a mountain near Algier which is called Cor- 
radog, i.e., Black Mountain, and the reason of its 
blackness, they say, is because it did not send any 
part of itself toward building the temple at Mecca. 
Between these hills is good and plain travelling, 
though they stand one to another. 

" There is upon the top of one of them a cave, 
which they term Hira, i.e., Blessing, into which, 
i\\BY say, Mohamet did usually i-etire for his solitary 
devotions, meditations, and fastings ; and here they 
believe he had a great part of the Alcoran brought 
him by the angel Gabriel. I have been in this cave, 
and observed that it is not at all beautified, at which 
1 admired. 

" About half a mile out of Mecca is a very steep 
hill, and there are stairs made to go to the top of it, 



EARLY EXPLORERS OF ARABIA 13 

where is a cupola, under which is a cloven rock ; into 
this, they sav, Mahomet when very young, viz., 
about four years of age, was carried by the angel 
Gabriel, who opened his breast and took out his 
heart, from which he picked some black blood specks, 
which was his original corruption ; tlien put it into 
its place again, and afterward closed up the part ; 
and that during this operation Mahomet felt no 
pain." 

The next account of the same pilgrimage is given 
by Giovanni Tinati, an Italian, wlio deserted from 
the French service on the coast of Dalmatia, and 
became an Albanian soldier. Making his way to 
Egypt, after various adventures, he became at last a 
corporal in Mohammed All's body-guard, and shared 
in several campaigns against the Wahabees. He did 
not, however, penetrate very far inland from the 
coast, and his visit to Mecca was the result of his 
desertion from the Egyptian army after a defeat. 
His narrative contains nothing which has not been 
more fully and satisfactorily stated by later trav- 
ellers. 

By this time, however, the era of careful scientific 
exploration had already commenced, and the descrip- 
tions which have since then been furnished to «s 
are positive contributions to our knowledge of Ara- 
bia. With the exception of the journey of Carsten 
Niebuhr, which embraces only the Sinaitic Peninsula 
and Yemen, the important explorations — all of which 
are equally difficult and daring — have been made 
since the commencement of this century. 



CHAPTER III. 

NIEBUHR'S TRAVELS IN YEMEN 

IK 1760 the Danish government decided to send an 
expedition to Arabia and India, for the purpose 
of geographical exploration. The command was 
given to Carsten Niebuhr, a native of Hanover, and 
a civil engineer. Four other gentlemen, an artist, 
a botanist, a physician, and an astronomer, were asso- 
ciated with him in the undertaking ; yet, by a singu- 
lar fatality, all died dui-ing the journey, and Niebuhr 
returned alone, after an absence of nearly seven 
years, to publish the first narrative of travel based on 
scientific observation. 

The party sailed from Copenhagen for Smyrna in 
January, 1761, visited Constantinople, and then pro- 
ceeded to Egypt, where they remained nearly a year. 
After a journey to Sinai, they finally succeeded in 
engaging passage on board a vessel carrying pilgrims 
from Suez to Jedda, and sailed from the foi-mer port 
in October, 1762. They took the precaution of 
adopting the Oriental dress, and conformed, as far as 
possible, to the customs of the Mussulman passen- 
gers ; thus the voyage, although very tedious and un- 
comfortable, was not accompanied with any other 
danger than that from the coral reefs along the 
Arabian shore. The vessel touched at Yambo, the 



NIEBUHR'S TRAVELS IN YEMEN 15 

port of Medina, and finally reached Jedda, after a 
voyage of nineteen days. 

Tlie travellers entered Jedda under strong appre- 
hensions of ill-treatment from the inhabitants, but 
were favorably disappointed. The people, it seemed, 
were already accustomed to the sight of Christian 
merchants in their town, and took no particular notice 
of the strangers, who went freely to the coffee-houses 
and markets, and felt themselves safe so long as they 
did not attempt to pass through the gate leading to 
Mecca. The Turkish Pasha of the city received 
them kindly, and they were allowed to hire a house 
for their temporary residence. 

After waiting six weeks for the chance of a pas- 
sage to Mocha, they learned that an Arabian vessel 
was about to sail for Hodeida, one of the ports of 
Yemen. The craft, when they visited it, proved to 
be more like a hogshead than a ship ; it was only seven 
fathoms long, by three in breadth. It had no deck ; 
its planks were extremely thin, and seemed to be 
only nailed together, but not pitched. The captain 
wore nothing but a linen cloth upon his loins, and 
his sailors, nine in number, were black slaves from 
Africa or Malabar. ]^evertheless, they engaged pas- 
sage, taking the entire vessel for themselves alone ; 
but when they came to embark, it was filled with the 
merchandise of others. The voyage proved to be 
safe and pleasant, and in sixteen days they landed at 
Loheia, in Yemen. 

The governor of this place was a negro, who had 
formerly been a slave. He received the travellers 
with the greatest kindness, persuaded them to leave 



16 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the vessel, and gave them a residence, promising 
camels for the f nrther journey by land. Althongli 
they were somewhat annoyed by the great curiosity 
of the inhabitants, their residence was so agreeable, 
and offered the naturalists so many facilities for mak- 
ing collections, that they remained nearly four 
months. " We had one opportunity," says J^iebuhr, 
" of learning their ideas of the benefits to be derived 
from medicine. Mr. Cramer had given a scribe an 
emetic which operated with extreme violence. The 
Arabs, being struck at its wonderful effects, resolved 
all to take the same excellent remedy, and the repu-^- 
tation of our friend's skill thus became very high 
among them. The Emir of the port se. . one day 
for him ; and, as he did not go immediately, the 
Emir soon after sent a saddled horse to our gate. 
Mr. Cramer, supposing that this horse was intended 
to bear him to the Emir, was going to mount him, 
when he was told that this was the patient he was to 
cure. We luckily found another physician in our 
party ; our Swedish servant had been with the hus- 
sars in his native country, and had acquired some 
knowledge of the diseases of horses. He offered to 
cure the Emir's horse, and succeeded. The cure 
rendered him famous,, and he was afterward sent for 
to human patients." 

Having satisfied themselves by this time that 
there was no danger in travelling in Yemen, they 
did not wait for the departure of any large caravan, 
but, on February 20, 1763, set out from Loheia, 
mounted on asses, and made their way across the 
Tehama, or low country, toward the large town of 



NIEBUHB'8 TRAVELS IN YEMEN 17 

Beit el-Fakih, which stands near the base of the 
coffee-bearing hills. They wore dresses somewhat 
similar to those of the natives, a long shirt, reaching 
nearly to the feet, a girdle, and a mantle over the 
shoulders. The country was barren, but there were 
many villages, and at intervals of eyery few miles 
they found coffee-houses, or, rather, huts, for the re- 
freshment of travellers. After having suffered no 
further inconvenience than from the brackish water, 
which is drawn from wells more than a hundred feet 
deep, they reached Beit el-Fakih in five days. 

Here they were kindly received by one of the native 
merchants, who hired a stone house for them. The 
town is seisJed upon a well-cultivated plain ; it is 
comparatively modern, but populous, and the travel- 
lers, now entirely accustomed to the Arabian mode of 
life, felt themselves safe. The Emir took no par- 
ticular notice of them, a neglect with which they 
were fully satisfied, since it left them free to range 
the country in all directions. Niebuhr, therefore, de- 
termined to make the place the temporary head- 
quarters of the expedition, and to give some time to 
excursions in that part of Yemen. " I hired an ass," 
says he, " and its owner agreed to follow me as my 
servant on foot. A turban, a great coat wanting the 
sleeves, a shirt, linen drawers, and a pair of slippers, 
were all the dress that I wore. It being the fashion 
of the country to carry arms in travelling, I had a 
sabre and two pistols hung by my girdle. A piece 
of old carpet was my saddle, and served me likewise 
for a seat, a table, and various other purposes. To 
cover me at night, I had the linen cloak which the 



18 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Arabs wrap about their shoulders, to shelter them 
from the sun and rain. A bucket of water, an article 
of indispensable necessity to a traveller in these arid 
regions, hung by my saddle." 

After a trip to the seaport of Hodeida, Niebuhr 
visited the old town of Zebid, built on the ruins of 
an older city, which is said to have once been the 
capital of all the low country. Zebid is situated in 
a large and fertile valley, traversed during the rainy 
season by a considerable stream, b}^ which a large 
tract of country is irrigated. There are the remains 
of an aqueduct built by the Turks, but the modern 
town does not cover half the space of the ancient 
capital. Zebid, however, is still distinguished for its 
academy, in which the youth of all that part of Ye- 
men study such sciences as are now cultivated by the 
Mussulmans. 

Niebuhr's next trip was to the plantations of the 
famous Mocha coffee, whither the other members of 
the party had already gone, during his visit to Zebid. 
After riding about twenty miles eastward from Beit 
el-Fakih, lie reached the foot of the mountains. He 
thus describes the region : " JS^either asses nor mules 
can be used here. The hills are to be climbed by 
steep and narrow paths ; yet, in comparison with the 
parched plains of the Tehama, the scenery seemed to 
ine charming, as it was covered with gardens and 
plantations of coffee-trees. 

" Up to this time I had seen only one small basalt- 
ic hill ; but here whole mountains were composed 
chiefly of those columns. Such detached rocks 
formed grand objects in the landscape, especially 



NIEBUHR'8 TRAVELS IN YEMEN 19 

where cascades of water were seen to rush from their 
summits. Tlie cascades, in such instances, had the 
appearance of being supported bj rows of artificial 
pillars. These basalts are of great utility to the in- 
habitants ; the colunms, which are easily separated, 
serve as steps where the ascent is most difficult, and 
as materials for walls to support the plantations of 
coffee-trees upon the steep declivities of the moun- 
tains. 

" The tree which affords the coffee is well known 
in Europe ; so that I need not here describe it par- 
ticularly. The coffee-trees were all in flower at 
Bulgosa, and exhaled an exquisitely agreeable per- 
fume. They are planted upon terraces, in the form 
of an amphitheatre. Most of them are only watered 
by the rains that fall, but some, indeed, from large 
reservoirs upon the heights, in which spring-water 
is collected, in order to be sprinkled upon the ter- 
races, where the trees gi'ow so thick together that 
the rays of the sun can hardly enter among their 
branches. We were told that those trees, thus arti- 
ficially watered, yielded ripe fruit twice in the year ; 
but the fruit becomes not fully ripe the second time, 
and the coffee of this crop is always inferior to that 
of the first. 

"Stones being more common in this part of the 
country than in the Tehama, the houses — as well of 
the villages as those which are seirtered solitarily 
over the hills — are built of this material. Although 
not to be compared to the houses of Europe for com- 
modiousness and elegance, yet they have a good ap- 
pearance ; especially such of them as stand upon the 



20 TRAVELS JIf ARABIA 

heights, with amphitheatres of beautifnl gardens and 
trees around them. 

" Even at this village of Bulgosa we were greatly 
above the level of the plain from which we had as- 
cended ; yet we had scarcely climbed half the ascent 
to Kusma, where the Emir of this district dwells, 
upon the loftiest peak of the range of mountains. 
Enchanting landscapes there meet the eye on all 
sides. 

" We passed the night at Bulgosa. Several of 
the men of the village came to see us, and after they 
retired we had a visit from our hostess, with some 
young women accompanying her, who were all very 
desirous to see the Europeans. They seemed less 
shy than the women in the cities ; their faces were 
unveiled, and they talked freely with us. As the 
air is fresher and cooler upon these hills, the women 
have a finer and fairer complexion than in the plain. 
Our artist drew a portrait of a young girl who was 
going to draw water, and was dressed in a shirt of 
linen, checkered blue and white. The top and mid- 
dle of the shirt, as well as the lower part of the 
drawers, were embroidered with needlework of dif- 
ferent colors." 

Having met with no molestation so far, Niebuhr 
determined to make a longer excursion into the 
southern interior of Yemen, among the mountains, 
to the important towns of Udden and Taas. The 
preparations were easily made. The travellers hired 
asses, the owners accompanying them on foot as 
guides and servants. As a further disguise they as- 
sumed Arabic names, and their real character was so 



NIEBUER'S TRAVELS IN YEMEN 21 

well concealed that even the guides supposed them 
to be Oriental Christians — not Europeans. Enter- 
ing the mountains bj an unfrequented road, they 
found a barren region at first, but soon reached val- 
leys where coffee was cultivated. The inhabitants, 
on account of the cooler nights, sleep in linen bags, 
which they draw over the head, and thus keep them- 
selves warm by their own breathing. 

After reaching Udden, which Mebuhr found to 
be a town of only three hundred houses, the hill- 
country became more thickly settled. Beside the 
roads, which had formerly been paved with stones, 
there were frequent tanks of water for the use of 
travellers, and, in exposed places, houses for their 
shelter in case of storms. The next important place 
was Djobla, a place of some importance in the aimals 
of Yemen, but with no antiquities, except some 
ruined mosques. A further march of two days 
brought the party to the fortified city of Taas, but 
they did not venture within its walls, not having ap- 
plied to the Emir for permission. They returned to 
their quarters at Beit el-Fakih, by way of Haas, 
another large town at the base of the mountains, hav- 
ing made themselves acquainted with a large portion 
of the hill-country of Arabia Felix. 

The journey to Mocha lasted three days, over a 
hot, barren plain, with no inhabitants except in the 
wadys or valleys, which are well watered during the 
rainy season. Their arrival at Mocha was followed 
by a series of annoyances, first from the custom- 
house officials, and then from the Emir, who con- 
ceived a sudden prejudice against the travellers. 



22 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

so that they were in danger of being driven out of 
the city. An English merchant, however, came to 
their assistance, a present of fifty ducats mollified 
the Emir, and at the end of a very disagreeable 
week they received permission to stay in the city. 
From heat and privation they liad all become ill, and 
in a short time one of the party died. 

Niebuhr now requested permission to proceed to 
Sana, the capital of Yemen. This the Emir re- 
fused, until he could send word to the Imam ; but, 
after a delay of a month, he allowed the party to go 
as far as Taas, which they reached in four days, and 
where they were well i-eceived. The refreshing rains 
every evening pui-ified the air, and all gradually ]-e- 
covered their health, except the botanist, who died 
before reaching Sana. 

Taas stands at the foot of the fertile mountain of 
Sabber, upon which, the Arabs say, grow all varie- 
ties of plants and trees to be found in the world. 
Nevertheless they did not allow the travellers to 
ascend or even approach it. The city is surrounded 
with a \vall, between sixteen and thirty feet high, 
and flanked with towers. The patron saint of the 
place is a former king, Ismael Meiek, who is buried 
in a mosque bearing his name, l^o person is allowed 
to visit the tomb since the occurrence of a miracle, 
which Niebuhr thus relates : " Two beggars had 
asked charity of the Emir of Taas, but only one of 
them had tasted of his bounty. Upon this the other 
went to the tomb of Ismael Melek to implore his 
aid. The saint, who, when alive, had been xevy 
charitable, stretched his hand out of the tomb and 



NIEBUHR'8 TRAVELS IN YEMEN 23 

gave the beggar a letter containing an order on the 
Emir to pay him a hundred crowns. Upon examin- 
ing this order with the greatest care it was found 
that Israael Melek liad written it with his own hand 
and sealed it with his own seal. The governor could 
not refuse payment; but to avoid all subsequent 
trouble from such bills of exchange, he had a wall 
built, inclosing the tomb." 

The Emir of Taas so changed in his behavior 
toward the travellers, after a few days, that he or- 
dered them to return to Mocha. Finding all their 
arguments and protests in vain, they were about to 
comply, when a messenger arrived from Mocha, 
bringing the permission of the Imam of Yemen for 
them to continue their journey to Sana. They set 
out on June 2Sth, and, after crossing the mountain 
ranges of Mharras and Samara, by well-paved and 
graded roads, reached, in a week, the town of Jerim, 
near the ruins of the ancient Hirayaritic city of 
Taphar, which, however, they were unable to visit 
on account of the illness of Mr. Forskal, the botanist 
of the expedition. This gentleman died in a few 
days ; and they were obliged to bury him by night, 
with the greatest precaution. 

From Jerim it is a day's journey to Damar, the 
capital of a province. The city, which is seated in 
the midst of a fertile plain, and is without walls, con- 
tains five thousand well-built houses. It lias a fa- 
mous university, which is usually attended by five 
hundred students. The travellers were here very 
much annoyed by the curiosity of the people, who 
threw stones at their windows in oi-der to force them 



24 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

to show themselves. There is a mine of native sul- 
phur near the place, and a mountain where cornelians 
are found, which are highly esteemed throughout the 
East. 

Beyond Damar the country is hilly, but every vil- 
lage is surrounded with gardens, orchards, and vine- 
yards, which are irrigated from large artificial reser- 
voirs built at the foot of the hills. On reaching Sana 
the travellers were not allowed to enter the city, but 
conducted to an unfurnished house without the walls, 
where they were ordered to wait two days in entire 
seclusion, until they could be received by the Imam. 
During tliis time they were not allowed to be visited 
by anyone. Kiebuhr thus describes their interview, 
which took place on the third daj" : 

" The hall of audience was a spacious square cham- 
ber, having an arched roof. In the middle was a 
large basin, with some jets d''eau, rising fourteen 
feet in height. Behind the basin, and near the 
throne, were two large benches, each a foot and a 
half high ; upon the throne was a space covered with 
silken stuff, on which, as well as on both sides of it, 
lay large cushions. The Imam sat between the cush- 
ions, with his legs crossed in the Eastern fashion ; 
his gown was of a bright green color, and had large 
sleeves. Upon each side of his breast was a rich 
filleting of gold lace, and on his head he wore a great 
white turban. His sons sat on his right hand, and 
his brothers on the left. Opposite to them, on the 
highest of the two benches, sat the Yizier, and our 
place was on the lower bench. 

"We were first led up to the Imam, and were per- 



NIEBUHR'8 TBAVELS IN YEMEN 25 

iiiitted to kiss botli the back and the pahn of his 
liand, as well as tlie hetn of liis robe. It is an extra- 
oi'diiiary favor when the Mohauunedan princes per- 
mit any person to kiss tlie pahn of the hand. There 
was a solemn silence through the whole hall. As 
each of us touched tlie Imam's hand a herald still 
proclaimed, ' God preserve the Imam ! ' and all who 
were pi-esent repeated these words after liim. I was 
thinking at the time how I should pay my compli- 
ments in Arabic, and was not a little disturbed by 
this noisy ceremony. 

" We did not think it proper to mention the true 
reason of our expedition through Arabia ; but told 
the Imam that, wishing to travel by the shortest 
ways to the Danish colonies, in the East Indies, we 
had heard so much of the plenty and security which 
prevailed through his dominions, that we had re- 
solved to see them with our own ej^es, so that we 
might describe them to our countrymen. The Imam 
told us we were welcome to his dominions, and might 
stay as long as we pleased. After our retui-n home 
he sent to each of us a small purse containing ninety- 
nine homassis, two and thirty of which make a crown. 
This piece of civility might, perhaps, appear no com- 
pliment to a traveller's delicacy. But, when it is 
considered that a stranger, unacquainted with the 
value of the money of the country, obliged to pay 
every day for his provisions, is in danger of being 
imposed upon by the money-changers, this care of 
providing us with small money will appear to have 
been sufficiently obliging." 

" The city of Sana," says Niebuhr, " is situated at 



26 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

tlie foot of Mount ISlikkum, on which are still to be 
seen the ruins of a castle, which the Arabs suppose to 
have been built by Shem. Near this mountain stands 
the citadel ; a rivulet rises upon the other side, and 
near it is the Bostan el-Metwokkel, a spacious gai'den, 
which was laid out by the Imam of that name, and 
has been greatly embellished by the reigning Imam. 
The walls of the city, which are built of bricks, ex- 
clude this garden, which is inclosed within a wall of 
its own. The city, properly so called, is not veiy ex- 
tensive ; one may walk around it in an hour. There 
are a number of mosques, some of which have been 
built by Turkish Pashas. In Sana are only twelve 
public baths, but many noble palaces, three of the 
most splendid of which have been built by the reign- 
ing Imam. The matei-ials of these palaces are burnt 
bricks, and sometimes even hewn stones ; but the 
houses of the common people are of bi'icks which 
have been dried in the sun. 

" The suburb of Bir el-Arsab is nearly adjoining 
the city on the east side. The houses of this village 
are scattered through the gardens, along the banks of 
a small river. Fruits are very plenteous ; there are 
more than twenty kinds of grapes, which, as they do 
not all ripen at the same time, continue to afford a 
delicious refreshment for several months. The Arabs 
likewise preserve grapes by hanging them up in their 
cellars, and eat them almost through the whole year. 
Two leagues northward from Sana is a plain named 
Rodda, which is overspread with gardens and watered 
by a number of rivulets. This place bears a great 
resemblance to the neighborhood of Damascus. But 



mEBUHR'8 TRAVELS IN YEMEN 27 

Sana, which some ancient authors compare to Damas- 
cus, stands on a rising ground, with nothing like 
florid vegetation about it. After long rains, indeed, 
a small rivulet runs through the city ; but all the 
ground is dry through the rest of the year. How- 
ever, by aqueducts from Mount Nikkum the town 
and castle of Sana are, at all times, supplied with 
abundance of excellent fresli water." 

After a stay of a week the travellers obtained an 
audience of leave, fearing that a longer delay might 
subject them to suspicions and embarrassments. Two 
days afterward the Imam sent each of them a com- 
plete suit of clothes, with a letter to the Emir of 
Mocha, ordering him to pay them two hundred 
crowns as a farewell present. He also furnished 
them with camels for the journey. Instead of return- 
ing by the same road they determined to descend 
from the hill-country to their old headquarters at 
Beit el-Fakih, and thence cross the lowland to Mocha. 

For two days they travelled over high, rocky 
mountains, by the worst roads they found in Yemen. 
The country was poor and thinly inhabited, and the 
declivities only began to be clothed with trees and 
terraced into coffee plantations as they approached 
the plains. The poorer regions are not considered 
entirely safe by the Arabs, as the people frequently 
plunder defenceless travellers ; but the party passed 
safely through this region, and reached Beit el-Fakih 
after a week's journey from Sana. 

Niebuhr and his companions reached Mocha early 
in August, and toward the end of that month sailed 
in an English vessel for Bombay, after a stay of ten 



28 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

months in Yemen. The artist of the expedition and 
the Swedish servant died on the Indian Ocean, and 
the plijsician in India, a few months afterward, leav- 
ing Niebuhr the sole survivor of the six persons who 
left Copenhagen three years before. After having 
sent home the joni-nals and collections of the expedi- 
tion he continued his travels through the Persian. 
Gulf, Bagdad, Armenia, and Asia Minor, finally 
reaching Denmark in 1767. The era of intelligent, 
scientific exploration, which is now rapidly opening 
all parts of the world to our knowledge, may be said 
to have been inaugurated by his travels. 



CHAPTER IT. 

BURCKHARDTS JOURNEY TO MECCA AND MEDINA 

BITRCKHARDT, to whom we are indebted for 
the first careful and complete description of the 
hoi J cities of Arabia, was a native of Lausanne, in 
Switzerland. After having been educated in Ger- 
many, he went to London with the intention of en- 
tering the English military service, but was per- 
suaded by Sir Joseph Banks to apply to the African 
Association for an appointment to explore the Sa- 
hara, and the then unknown negro kingdoms of Cen- 
tral Africa. His offer was accepted, and after some 
preparation he went to Aleppo, in Syria, where lie 
remained for a year or two, engaged in studying 
Arabic and familiarizing himself with Oriental habits 
of life. 

His first journeys in Syria and Palestine, which 
were only meant as preparations for the African ex- 
ploration, led to the most important results. He was 
the first to visit the country of Hauran— the Bashan 
of Scripture — lying southeast of Damascus. After 
this he passed through Moab, east of the Dead Sea, 
and under the pretence of making a pilgrimage to 
the tomb of Aaron on Mount Hor, discovered the 
rock-hewn palaces and temples of Petra, which had 
been for many centuries lost to the world. 



30 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Barckhardt reached Cairo in safety, and after 
vainly waiting some months for an opportunity of 
joining a caravan to Fezzan, determined to employ 
his time in making a visit to Upper Egypt and Nu- 
bia. Travelling alone, with a single guide, he suc- 
ceeded in reaching the frontiers of Dongola, beyond 
which it was then impossible to proceed. He there- 
fore returned to Assouan, and joined a small caravan, 
which crossed the Nubian Desert to Ethiopia, by 
very nearly the same route which Bruce had taken 
in returning from Abj'ssinia. He remained some 
time at Shendy, the capital of Ethiopia, and then, 
after a journey of three months across the country 
of Takka, which had never before been visited by a 
European, reached the port of Suakin, on the Red 
Sea. Here he embarked for Jedda, in Arabia, where 
he arrived in July, 1814. 

By this time his Moslem character had been so 
completely acquired that he felt himself free from 
suspicion. Accordingly he decided to remain and 
take part in the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, 
which was to take place that year, in November. 
His funds, however, were nearly exhausted, and the 
Jedda merchants refused to honor an old letter of 
credit upon Cairo, which he still carried with him. 
In this emergency he wrote to the Armenian physi- 
cian of Mohammed Ali, who was at that time with 
the Pasha at the city of Tayf (or Tayef), about sev- 
enty miles southeast of Mecca. Mohammed Ali 
happening to hear of this application, immediately 
sent a messenger with two dromedaries, to summon 
Burckhardt to visit him. It seems most probable 



BUBGKHAEDT'S JOURNEY TO MECCA 31 

that the Paslia suspected the traveller of being an 
English spy, and wished to examine him personally. 
The guide had orders to conduct the latter to Tayf 
by a circuitous route, instead of by the direct road 
through Mecca. 

Burckhardt set out without the least hesitation, 
taking care to exhibit no suspicion of the Pasha's 
object, and no desire to see the holy city. But the 
guide himself proposed that they should pass through 
Mecca in order to save travel ; the journey was hur- 
ried, however, and only a rapid observation was pos- 
sible. Pushing eastward, they reached, on the third 
night, the Mountain of Kora, which divides the ter- 
ritory of Mecca from that of Tayf. Burckhardt was 
astonished at the change in the scenery, produced by 
the greater elevation of the interior of Arabia above 
the sea. His description is a striking contrast to that 
of the scenery about Mecca. 

"This," he says, "is the most beautiful spot in the 
Hedjaz, and more picturesque and delightful than 
anything I had seen since my departure from Leba- 
non, in Syria. The top of Djebel Kora is flat, but 
large masses of granite lie scattered over it, the sur- 
face of which, like that of the granite rocks near the 
second cataract of the jSTile, is blackened by the sun. 
Several small rivulets descend from this peak and ir- 
rigate the plain, which is covered with verdant fields 
and large shady trees beside the granite rocks. To 
those who have only known the dreary and scorching- 
sands of the lower country of the Hedjaz, this scene 
is as surprising as the keen air which blows here is 
refreshing. Many of the fruit-trees of Europe are 



32 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

found here : figs, apricots, peaches, apples, the Egyp- 
tian sycamore, ahnonds, pomegranates ; but particu- 
larly vines, the produce of which is of the best qual- 
ity. After having passed through this deliglitful 
district for about half an hour, just as the sun was 
rising, when every leaf and blade of grass was covered 
with a balmy dew, and every tree and shrub diffused 
a fragrance as delicious to the smell as was the land- 
scape to the eye, I halted near the largest of the 
rivulets, which, although not more than two paces 
across, nourishes upon its banks a green alpine turf, 
such as the mighty Nile, with all its luxuriance, can 
never produce in Egypt." 

Burckhardt had an interview with Mohammed All 
on the evening of his arrival in Tayf. His suspicions 
were confirmed : the Kadi (Judge) of Mecca and two 
well - informed teachers of the Moslem faith were 
present, and although the Pasha professed to accept 
Burckhard's protestations of his Moslem character, it 
was very evident to the latter that he was cunningly 
tested by the teachers. Nevertheless, when the inter- 
view was over, they pronounced him to be not only 
a genuine Moslem, but one of unusual learning and 
piety. The Pasha was forced to submit to this de- 
cision, but he was evidently not entirely convinced, 
for he gave orders that Burckhardt should be the 
guest of his physician, in order that his speech and 
actions might be more closely observed. Burckhardt 
took a thoroughly Oriental way to release himself 
from this surveillance. He gave the physician so 
much trouble that the latter was very glad, at the end 
of ten days, to procure from the Pasha permission for 



BURGKHARBT'S JOURNEY TO MECCA 33 

him to return to Mecca, in order to get rid of him. 
Burckhardt thereupon travelled to the holy city in 
company with the Kadi himself. 

At the valley of Mohi-am, nearly a day's journey 
from Mecca, Burcl^hardt changed his garb for the i/i- 
ram, or costume worn by the pilgrims during their 
devotional services. It consists of two pieces of 
either linen, cotton, or woollen cloth ; one is wrapped 
around the loins, while the other is thrown over the 
shoulder in such a manner as to leave the right arm 
entirely bare. On reaching Mecca he obeyed the 
Moslem injunction of first visiting the great mosque 
and performing all the requisite ceremonies before 
transacting any worldly business. When this had 
been accomplished he made a trip to Jedda for the 
purpose of procuring supplies, which were necessaiy 
for the later pilgrimage to Medina, and then estab- 
lished himself comfortably in an unfrequented part 
of Mecca, to await the arrival of the caravan of pil- 
grims from Damascus. 

Burckhardt describes the great mosque of Mecca, 
which is called the Beit Allah, or " House of God," 
as " a large quadrangular building, in the centre of 
which stands the Kaaba, an oblong, massive structure 
eighteen paces in length, fourteen in breadth, and 
from thirty-five to forty feet in height. It is con- 
structed of gray Mecca stone, in large blocks of dif- 
ferent sizes, joined together in a very rough mannei", 
and with bad cement. At the northeast corner of 
the Kaaba, near tlie door, is the famous Black Stone, 
which forms part of the sharp angle of the building 
at four or five feet above the ground. It is an irreg- 



34 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

nlar oval of about seven inches in diaraeter, with an 
undulating surface, composed of about a dozen smaller 
stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined to- 
gether with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly 
smoothed. It is very difficult to determine accurately 
tlie quality of this stone, which has been M'orn to its 
present surface by the millions of touches and kisses 
it has received. It appears to me like a lava, contain- 
ing several small extraneous particles. Its color is 
now a deep reddish brown, approaching to black. It 
is surrounded on all sides by a border, composed of a 
substance which I took to be a close cement of pitch 
and gravel ; this border serves to support its detached 
pieces. Both the border and the stone itself are en- 
circled by a silver band." 

Toward the end of November the caravans from 
Syria and Egypt arrived, and at the same time Mo- 
liammed Ali, so that the Jiadj, or pilgrimage, as- 
sumed a character of unusual pomp and parade. 
The Pasha's iliram consisted of two of the finest 
Cashmere shawls ; the horses and camels belonging 
to himself and his large retinue, with those of the 
Pasha of Damascus and other Moslem princes, were 
decorated with the most brilliant trappings. On ar- 
riving, the pilgrims did not halt in Mecca, but con- 
tinued their march to the Sacred Mountain of Arafat, 
to the eastward of the city. A camp, several miles 
in extent, was formed upon the plain, at the foot of 
the mountain, and here Burckhardt joined the im- 
mense crowd, in order to take his share in the cere- 
monies of the following day. 

In the morning he climbed to the top of Arafat, 



BUROKHABDT'S JOURNEY TO MECCA 35 

which is an irregular, isolated mass of granite, rising- 
only about two hundred feet above the plain. Over- 
looking thus the entire camp, he counted more than 
three thousand tents, and estimated that at least 
twenty-five thousand camels and seventy thousand 
human beings were there collected together. " The 
scene," he says, " was one of the most extraordinary 
which the earth affords. Every pilgrim issued from 
his tent to walk over the plain and take a view of the 
busy crowds assembled there. Long streets of tents, 
fitted up as bazaars, furnished them with all kinds of 
provisions. The Syrian and Egyptian cavalry were 
exercised by their chiefs early in the morning, while 
thousands of camels were seen feeding upon the dry 
shrubs of the plain all around the camp. The Syrian 
pilgrims were encamped upon the south and south- 
west sides of the mountain ; the Egyptians upon the 
southeast. Mohammed Ali, and Soleyman, Pasha of 
Damascus, as well as several of their followers, had 
very handsome tents ; but the most magnificent of all 
was that of the wife of Mohammed Ali, the mother 
of Toossoon Pasha and Ibrahim Pasha, who had 
lately arrived from Cairo with a truly royal equipage, 
five hundred camels being necessary to transport her 
baggage from Jedda to Mecca. Her tent was in fact 
an encampment, consisting of a dozen tents of differ- 
ent sizes, inhabited by her women ; the whole en- 
closed by a wall of linen cloth, eight hundred paces 
in circuit, the single entrance to which was guarded 
by eunuchs in splendid dresses. The beautiful em- 
broidery on the exterior of this linen palace, with the 
various colors displayed in every part of it, consti- 



36 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

tuted an object which reminded nie of some descrip- 
tions in the Arabian tales of the Thousand and One 
Nights." 

Burckhardt also gives an interesting description of 
the sermon preached on Mount Arafat, the hearing 
of which is an indispensable part of the pilgrimage : 
unless a person is at least present during its delivery, 
lie is not entitled to the name of hadji, or pilgrim. 
The great encampment broke up at three o'clock in 
the afternoon, and Mount Arafat was soon covered 
from top to bottom. " The two Pashas, with their 
whole cavalry drawn up in two squadrons behind 
them, took their posts in the rear of the deep line of 
camels of the pilgrims, to which those of the people 
of Hedjaz were also joined ; and here they waited in 
solemn and respectful silence the conclusion of the 
sermon. Fartlier removed from the preacher was 
the Scherif of Mecca, with his small body of soldiers, 
distinguished by several green standards carried be- 
fore him. The two malimals^ or holy camels, which 
carry on their backs the high structure which serves 
as the banner of their respective caravans, made way 
with difficulty through the ranks of camels that en- 
cii'cled the southern and eastern sides of the hill, op- 
posite to the preacher, and took their station, sur- 
rounded by their guards, directly under the platform 
in front of him. The preacher, who is usually the 
Kadi of Mecca, was mounted upon a finely capari- 
soned camel, which had been led up the steps : it was 
traditionally said that Mohammed was always seated 
when he addressed his followers, a practice in which 
he was imitated by all the Caliphs who came to the 



BUBCKHARDT'S JOURNEY TO MECCA 37 

pilgrimage, and who from this place addressed their 
subjects in person. The Turkish gentleman of Con- 
stantinople, howev^er, unused to camel-i-iding, could 
not keep his seat so well as the hardy Bedouin 
prophet, and the camel becoming unruly, he was 
soon obliged to alight from it. He read his sermon 
from a book in Arabic, which he held in his hands. 
At intervals of every four or five minutes he paused 
and stretched forth his arms to implore blessino-s 
from above, while the assembled multitudes around 
and before him waved the skirts of their ihrams 
over their heads and rent the air with shouts of 
Lebeyk, Allah, huma leheyJc ! — ' Here we are at Thy 
bidding, oh God ! ' During the waving of the ihrams 
the sides of the mountain, thickly crowded as it was 
by the people in their white garments, had the ap- 
pearance of a cataract of water ; while the green 
umbrellas, with which several thousand pilgrims sit- 
ting on their camels below were provided, bore some 
resemblance to a verdant plain." 

Burckhardt performed all the remaining ceremo- 
nies required of a pilgrim ; but these have been 
more recently described and with greater minuteness 
by Captain Burton. He remained in Mecca for an- 
other month, unsuspected and unmolested, and com- 
pleted his observations of a place which the Arabs 
believed they had safely sealed against all Christian 
travellers. 

Leaving Mecca with a small caravan of pilgrims, 
on January 15, 1815, he reached Medina after a 
journey of thirteen days, during which he narrowly 
escaped being slain by the Bedouins. 



38 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Burckhardt was attacked with fever soon after his 
arrival at Medina, and remained there three months. 
The ceremonies prescribed for the pilgrims who visit 
the citj are brief and unimportant ; but the descrip- 
tion of the tomb of Mohammed is of sufficient inter- 
est to quote. "The mausoleum," he says, "stands 
at the southeastern corner of the principal mosque, 
and is protected from the too near approach of visi- 
tors by an iron railing, painted green, about two- 
thirds the height of the pillars of the colonnade 
which runs around the interior of the mosque. The 
railing is of good workmanship, in imitation of fili- 
gree, and is interwoven with open-worked inscrip- 
tions of yellow bronze, supposed by the vulgar to be of 
gold, and of so close a texture that no view can be ob- 
tained of the interior except by several small windows, 
about six inches square, which are placed in the four 
sides of the railing, about five feet above the ground. 
On the south side, where are the two principal 
windows, before which the devout stand when pray- 
ing, the railing is plated with silver, and the common 
inscription — ' There is no god but God, the Evident 
Truth ! ' — is wrought in silver letters around the win- 
dows. The tomb itself, as well as those of Abu Bekr 
and Omar, which stand close to it, is concealed from 
the public gaze by a curtain of rich silk brocade of 
various coloi'S, interwoven with silver flowers and ara- 
besques, with inscriptions in characters of gold run- 
ning across the midst of it, like that of the covering 
of the Kaaba. Behind this curtain, which, according 
to the historian of the city, was formerly changed 
every six years, and is now renewed by the Porte 




Illlfe'^^ 1^ 






!hii 







':-<, \ 



BTIRCKHARDT'S JOURNEY TO MEGGA 39 

whenever the old one is decayed, or when a new Sul- 
tan ascends the throne, none but the chief eunuchs, 
the attendants of the mosque, are permitted to enter. 
This holy sanctuary once served, as the temple of 
Delphi did among the Greeks, as the public treasury 
of the nation. Here the money, jewels, and other 
precious articles of the people of Hedjaz were kept 
in chests, or suspended on silken ropes. Among 
these was a copy of the Koran in Cufic characters ; a 
brilliant star set in diamonds and pearls, which was 
suspended directly over the Prophet's tomb ; with 
all sorts of vessels filled with jewels, earrings, brace- 
lets, necklaces, and other ornaments sent as presents 
from all parts of the empire. Most of these articles 
were carried away by the Wahabees when they 
sacked and plundered the sacred cities." 

Burckhardt reached Yambo (the port of Medina), 
at the end of April, and, after I'unning great dangei' 
from the plague, succeeded in obtaining passage to 
the Peninsula of Sinai, whence he slowly made his 
way back to Cairo. Here he waited for two years, 
vainly hoping for the departure of a caravan for 
Central Afi-ica, and meanwhile assistinsj Belzoni in 
his explorations at Thebes. In October, 1817, he 
died, and the people who knew him only as Shekh 
Abdallah, laid his body in the Moslem burying- 
ground, on the eastern side of Cairo. 



CHAPTER Y. 

WELLSTED'S EXPLORATIONS IN OMAN 

PERHAPS the most satisfactoiy account of the 
interior of Oman — the southeastern portion 
of Arabia — lias been given by Lieutenant Wellsted. 
While in the Indian Navy he was employed for sev- 
eral years in surveying the southern and eastern 
coasts of Arabia. Having become somewhat famil- 
iar with the language and habits of the people, he 
conceived the idea of undertaking a journey to Der- 
reyeh, in ISTedjed, the capital of the Wahabees, which 
no traveller had then reached. The governor of 
Bombay gave him the necessary leav^e of absence, 
and he landed at Muscat in November, 1835. 

The Sultan, Sayid Saeed, received the young Eng- 
lishman with great kindness, promised him all possi- 
ble aid in his undertaking, and even arranged for 
him the route to be travelled. He was to sail first to 
the port of Sur, south of Muscat, thence penetrate 
to the country inhabited by the Beni-Abu-Ali ti'ibe, 
and make his way northward to tlie Jebel Akhdar, 
or Green Mountains, which were described to him as 
lofty, fruitful, and populous. Having thus visited 
the most interesting portions of Oman, he was then 
to be at liberty, if the way was open, to take the 
northern route through the Desert toward Nedjed. 



WELLSTEB'S EXPLORATIONS IN OMAN 41 

The Snltan presented him with a horse and sword, 
together with letters to the governors of the districts 
through which he should pass. 

At Sur, which is a small, insignificant village, with 
a good harbor, the mountains of the interior ap- 
proach the sea, but thej are here divided by a val- 
ley which furnishes easy access to the country be- 
yond them. After a journey of four days Wellsted 
reached the tents of the tribe of Ben-Abu-Ali, at a 
point to which the English troops had penetrated in 
1821, to punish the tribe for acts of piracy. Al- 
though no Englishman had visited them since that 
time, they received him with every demonstration 
of friendship. Sheep were killed, a feast prepared, 
a guard of honor stationed around the tent, and, in 
the evening, all the men of the encampment, 250 in 
number, assembled for the purpose of exhibiting 
their war-dance. Wellsted thus describes the scene: 
" They formed a circle within which five of their 
number entered. After walking leisurely around 
for some time, .each challenged one of the spectators 
by striking him gently with the flat of his sword. 
His adversary immediately leaped forth and a 
feigned combat ensued. They have but two cuts, 
one directly downward, at the head, the other hori- 
zontal, across the legs. They parry neither with 
the sword nor shield, but avoid the blows by leaping 
or bounding backward. Tlie blade of their sword is 
three feet in length, thin, double-edged, and as sharp 
as a razor. As they carry it upright before them, 
by a peculiar motion of the wrist they cause it to vi- 
brate in a very remarkable manner, which has a sin- 



42 TBAVEL8 IN ARABIA 

gularlj striking effect when they are assembled in 
any considei'able number. It was part of the enter- 
tainment to fire oft" their matchlocks under the legs 
of some one of the spectators who appeared too in- 
tent on watching the game to observe their approach, 
and any' signs of alarm which incautiousl}^ escaped 
the individual added greatly to their mirth." 

In tlie evening a party of the Geneba Bedouins 
came in from the desert, accompanied by one of their 
chiefs. The latter readily consented that Wellsted 
should accompany him on a short journey into his 
country, and they set out the following morning. 
It was December, and the morning air M^as cold and 
pnre ; the party swept rapidly across the broad, 
barren plains, the low hills, dotted with acacia trees, 
and the stony channels which carried the floods of 
the rainy season to the sea. After a da3''s journey 
of forty-four miles they encamped near some brack- 
ish wells. " You wished," said the chief to Well- 
sted, " to see the country of the Bedouins ; this,'''' he 
continued, striking his spear into the firm sand, " this 
is the country of the Bedouins." Neither he nor his 
companions wore any clothing except a single cloth 
around the loins. Their hair, which is permitted to 
grow until it reaches the waist, and is usually well 
plastered with grease, is the only covering which 
protects their heads from the sun. 

The second day's journey brought Wellsted to a 
small encampment, where the chief's wives were 
abiding. They conversed with him, unveiled, gave 
him coffee, milk, and dates, and treated him with all 
the hospitality which their scanty means allowed. 



WELLSTED'S EXPLORATIONS IN OMAN 43 

The Belli Geneba tribe nmnbers about three thou- 
sand five hundred fighting men ; they are spread 
over a large extent of Southern Arabia, and are 
divided into two distinct dasses — those who live by 
fishing, and those who follow pastoral pursuits. A 
i-ace of fishermen, however, is found on all parts of 
the Arabian coast. In some disti-icts they are con- 
sidered a separate and degraded people, with whom 
the genuine Bedouins will neither eat, associate, nor 
intermarry ; but among the Beni Geneba this dis- 
tinction does not exist. 

Wellsted might have penetrated mnch farther to 
the westward under the protection of this tribe, and 
was tempted to do so ; but it seemed more important 
to move northward, and get upon some one of the 
caravan tracks leading into Central Arabia. He 
therefore returned to the camp of the Beni-Abu-Ali, 
where the friendly people would hardly suffer him to 
depart, promising to build a house for him if he 
would remain a month with them. For two days he 
travelled northward, over an undulating region of 
sand, sometimes dotted with stunted acacias, and 
reached a district called Bediah, consisting of seven 
villages, each seated in its little oasis of date palms. 
One striking feature of these towns is their low situ- 
ation. They are erected in artificial hollows, which 
have been excavated to the depth of six or eight feet. 
Water is then conveyed to them in subterranean 
channels from wells in the neighboring hills, and the 
soil is so fertile that irrigation sufiices to produce the 
richest harvest of fruit and vegetables. A single 
step carries the traveller from the glare and sand of 



44 TBA VEL8 IN ARABIA 

the desert into a spot teeming with the most hixnri- 
ant vegetation, and embowered bj lofty trees, whose 
foliage keeps out the sun, " Some idea," says Well- 
sted, " may be formed of the density of this shade 
by the effect it produces in lessening the terrestrial 
radiation. A Fahrenheit thermometer which with- 
in the house stood at 55°, six inches from the ground 
fell to 45°. From this cause and the abundance of 
water they are always saturated with damp, and even 
in the heat of the day possess a clammy coldness." 

On approaching Ibrah, the next large town to the 
north, the country became hilly, and the valleys be- 
tween the abrupt limestone ranges increased in fer- 
tility. Wellsted thus describes the place : " There 
are some handsome houses in Ibrah ; but the style 
of building is quite peculiar to this part of Arabia. 
To avoid the damp and catch an occasional beam of 
the sun above the ti-ees, they are usually very lofty. 
A parapet surrounding the upper part is turreted, 
and on some of the largest houses guns are mounted. 
The windows and doors have the Saracenic arch, and 
every part of the building is profusely decorated with 
ornaments of stucco in bas-relief, some in very good 
taste. The doors are also cased with brass, and have 
rings and other massive ornaments of the same metal. 

"Ibrah is justly renowned for the beauty and fair- 
ness of its females. Those we met on the sti-eets 
evinced but little shyness, and on my return to the 
tent I found it filled with them. They were in high 
glee at all they saw ; every box I had was turned 
over for their inspection, and whenever I attempted 
to remonstrate against their proceedings they stopped 



WELLSTED'S EXPLORATIONS IN OMAN 45 

my month with their hands. With such damsels 
there was nothing left but to langh and look on." - 

Travelling two days farther in the northward, 
Wellsted reached the town of Seramed, where he 
found a fine stream of running water. The Shekh's 
house was a large fort, the rooms of which were spa- 
cious and lofty, but destitute of furniture. Sus- 
pended on pegs protruding from the walls were the 
saddles, cloths, and harness of the horses and camels. 
The ceilings were painted in various devices, but the 
floors were of mud, and only partially covered with 
mats. Lamps formed of shells, a species of murex, 
were suspended by lines from the ceiling. On re- 
turning to the tent, after this visit, the traveller 
found, as usual, a great crowd collected there, but 
kept in order by a boy about twelve years of age. 
He had taken possession of the tent, as its guardian, 
and allowed none to enter without his permission. 
He carried a sword longer than himself, and also a 
stick, with which he occasionally laid about him. It 
is a part of the Arab system of education to cease 
treating boys as children at a very early age, and 
they acquire, therefore, the gravity and demeanor of 
men. 

Beyond this place Wellsted was accompanied by a 
guard of seventy armed men, for the country was 
considered insecure. For two days and a half he 
passed many small villages, separated by desert 
tracts, and then reached the town of Minna, near the 
foot of the Green Mountains. " Minna," he says, 
" differs from the other towns in having its cultiva- 
tion in the open fields. As we crossed these, with 



46 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

lofty almond, citron, and orange trees yielding a de- 
licious fragrance on either hand, exclamations of as- 
tonishment and admiration burst from us. ' Is this 
Arabia ? ' we said ; ' this the country we have looked 
on heretofore as a desert ? ' Yerdant fields of grain 
and sugar-cane stretching along for miles are before 
us ; streams of water, flowing in all directions, inter- 
sect our path ; and the happy and contented appear- 
ance of the peasants agreeably helps to fill up the 
smiling picture. The atmosphere was delightfully 
clear and pure ; and, as we trotted joyously along, 
giving or returning the salutations of peace or wel- 
come, I could almost fancy that we had at last reached 
that ' Araby the Blessed ' which I had been accus- 
tomed to regard as existing only in the fictions of our 
poets. 

" Minna is an old town, said to have been erected 
at the period of Narhir van's invasion ; but it bears, 
in common with the other towns, no indications of 
antiquity ; its houses are lofty, but donot difPer from 
those of Ibrah or Semmed. There are two square 
towers, about one hundred and seventy feet in height, 
nearly in the centre of the town ; at their bases the 
breadth of the wall is not more than two feet, and 
neither side exceeds in length eight yards. It is 
therefore astonishing, considering the rudeness of the 
materials (they have nothing but unhewn stones and 
a coarse but apparently strong cement), that, with 
proportions so meagre, they should have been able to 
carry them to their present elevation. The guards, 
who are constantly on the lookout, ascend by means 
of a rude ladder, formed by placing bars of wood 



WELLSTEB'S EXPLORATION'S IN OMAN 47 

in a diao-onal direction in one of the side ano-les 
within tlie interior of tlie building." 

The important town of Neswah, at the western 
base of the Jebel Akdar, or Green Mountains, is a 
short day's journey from Minna. On ari-ivirig there 
Wellsted was received in a friendly manner by the 
governor, and lodged, for the first time since leaving 
Muscat, in a substantial house. He was allowed to 
visit the fortress, which, in that region, is considered 
impregnable. He was admitted by an iron door of 
great strength, and, ascending through a vaulted pas- 
sage, passed through six others equally massive be- 
fore reaching the summit. The form of the fort is 
circular, its diameter being nearly one hundred j^ards, 
and to the height of ninety feet it has been filled up 
by a solid mass of earth and stones. Seven or eight 
wells have been bored through this, from several of 
which they obtain a plentiful supply of water, while 
those which are dry serve as magazines for their shot 
and ammunition, A wall forty feet high surrounds 
the summit, making the whole height of the fortress 
one hundred and fifty feet. It is a work of extraor- 
dinary labor, and from its appearance probably of 
considerable antiquity ; but no certain intelligence 
could be obtained on this point. 

On Christmas-day Wellsted left Neswali on an 
excursion to the celebrated Green Mountains. The 
Shekli of Tanuf, the first village where he encamped, 
endeavored in every possible way to dissuade him 
from undertaking the journey ; but his resolute man- 
ner and a few gifts overcame the difficulty. Mounted 
on strong asses, the party commenced ascending: a 



48 TBAVELS m ARABIA 

precipitous ridge bj a track so narrow that they 
seemed at times to be suspended over precipices of 
unknown depth. On the second day they reached 
the village of Seyk. " By means of steps," he says, 
" we descended the steep side of a narrow glen, about 
four hundred feet in depth, passing in our progress 
several houses perched on crags or other acclivities, 
their walls built up in some places so as to appear but 
a continuation of the precipice. These small, snug, 
compact-looking dwellings have been erected by the 
natives one above the other, so that their appearance 
from the bottom of the glen, hanging as it were in 
mid-air, affords to the spectator a most novel and in- 
teresting picture. Here we found, amid a great va- 
riety of fruits and trees, pomegranates, citrons, al- 
monds, nutmegs, and walnuts, with coffee-bushes and 
vines. In the summer, these together must yield a 
delicious fragrance ; but it was now winter, and they 
were leafless. Water flows in many places from the 
upper part of the hills, and is received at the lower 
in small reservoirs, whence it is distributed all over 
the face of the country. From the narrowness of 
this glen, and the steepness of its sides, only the 
lower part of it receives the warmth of the sun's rays 
for a short period of the day ; and even at the time 
of our arrival we found it so chilly, that, after a short 
halt, we were very happy to continue our journe}'." 

They halted for the night at a village called Shirazi, 
in the heart of the mountains, the highest peaks of 
which here reach a height of 6,000 feet above the sea. 
The inhabitants belong to a tribe called the Beni 
Ryam, who are considered infidels by the people of 



WELLSTED'S EXPLORATIONS IN OMAN 49 

Neswah because they cultivate the grape for the pur- 
pose of making wine. The next day the Arabs who 
formed Wellsted's escort left him, and he had con- 
siderable difficulty in returning to ISTeswah by another 
road. From this point he had intended starting for 
Central Arabia, but the funds which he expected did 
not arrive from Muscat, the British agent there hav- 
ing refused to make the necessary advances. Well- 
sted thereupon applied directly to the Sultan, Sayd 
Saeed, for a loan, and while waiting an answer, made 
an excursion into the desert, fifty miles to the west- 
ward of Neswah. With a view to familiarize him- 
self with the manners and domestic life of the Bed- 
ouins, he mixed with them during this trip, living 
and sleeping in their huts and tents. On all occa- 
sions he was treated with kindness, and often with a 
degree of hospitality above rather than below the 
means of those who gave it. 

Although the Sultan of Muscat was willing to fur- 
nish the necessary supplies, and arrangements had 
been made which Wellsted felt sure would have 
enabled him to penetrate into the interior, he was 
prevented from going forward by a violent fever, 
from the effects of which he remained insensible for 
five days. Kecovering sufficiently to travel, his only 
course was to return at once to the sea-coast, and on 
January 22, 1836, he left jSTeswali for the little port 
of Sib, where he arrived after a slow journey of eight 
days. He relates the following incident, which oc- 
curred at Semayel, the half-way station : "Weary and 
faint from the fatigue of the day's journey, in order 
to enjoy the freshness of the evening breeze I had 



50 ' TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

my carpet spread beneatli a tree. An Arab passing 
by paused to gaze upon me, and, touched by my con- 
dition and the melancholy which was depicted on my 
countenance, he proffered the salutation of peace, 
pointed to the crystal stream which sparkled at my 
feet, and said : ' Look, friend, for running water 
maketh the heart glad ! ' With his hands folded 
over his breast, that mute but most graceful of 
Eastern salutations, he bowed and passed on. I 
was in a situation to estimate sympathy ; and so 
much of that feeling was exhibited in the manner 
of this son of the desert, that I have never since 
recurred to the incident, trifling as it is, without 
emotion." 

A rest of four weeks at Sib recruited the traveller's 
strength, and he determined to make another effort 
to reach Central Arabia. He therefore applied to 
the Sultan for an escort to Bireimah, the first town 
of the Wahabees, beyond the northern frontier of 
Oman. The Sultan sent a guide, but objected to tlie 
undertaking, as word had just arrived that the Waha- 
bees were preparing to invade his territory. Well- 
sted, however, was not willing to give up his design 
without at least making the attempt. He followed 
the coast, north of Muscat, as far as the port of Su- 
weik, where he was most hospitably received by the 
wife of the governor, Seyd Hilal, who was absent. 
'- Ahuge meal, consisting of a great variety of dishes, 
sufficient for thirty or forty people, was prepared in 
his kitchen, and brought to us, on large copper dishes, 
twice a day during the time we remained. On these 
occasions there was a great profusion of blue and gilt 



lilpSMIIW^^ 



<% 



1115:1 










WELLSTED'S EXPLORATIONS IN OMAN 51 

chinaware, cut glass dishes, and decanters containing 
sherbet instead of wine." 

" The Shekh," Wellsted continues, " after his re- 
turn, usually spent the evening with us. On one 
occasion he was accompanied by a professional story- 
teller, who appeared to be a great favorite with hiin. 
' Whenever I feel melancholy or out of order,' said 
he, ' I send for this man, who very soon restores me 
to my wonted spirits.' From the falsetto tone in 
which the story was chanted, I could not follow the 
thread of the tale, and, upon my mentioning this to 
him, the Shekh very kindly sent me the manuscript, 
of which the reciter had availed himself. With lit- 
tle variation I found it to be the identical Sindbad the 
Sailor, so familiar to the readers of the Arabian 
Nights. I little thought, when first I perused these 
fascinating tales in my own language, that it would 
ever be my lot to listen to the original in a spot so 
congenial and so remote." 

Leaving Suweik on March 4th, Wellsted was 
deserted by his camel-men at the end of the first 
day's march, but succeeded in engaging others at a 
neighboring village. The road, which at first led 
between low hills, now entered a deep mountain- 
gorge, inclosed by abrupt mountains of rock several 
thousand feet in height. 

For two days the party followed this winding de- 
file, where the precipices frequently towered from 
three to four thousand feet over their heads. Then, 
having passed the main chain, the country became 
more open, and they reached the village of Muskin, 
in the territory of the Beni Kalban Arabs. Their 



52 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

progress bejond this point was slow and tedious, on 
account of tiie country being divided into separate 
districts, which are partly independent of each other. 
At the next town, Makiniyat, the Sliekh urged them 
to go no farther, on account of the great risk, but 
finally consented to furnish an escort to Obri, the 
last town to the northward which acknowledges the 
sway of Muscat. This was distant two days' journey 
— the first through a broad valley between pyramidal 
hills, the second over sandy plains, which indicated 
their approach to the Desert. 

Obri is one of the largest and most populous 
towns in Oman. The inhabitants devote themselves 
almost exclusively to agriculture, and export large 
quantities of indigo, sugar, and dates. On arriving 
Wellsted went immediately to the residence of the 
Shekh, whom he found to be a very different char- 
acter from the ofiicials whom he had hitherto en- 
countered. " Upon my producing the Imam's let- 
ters," says he, " he read them, and took his leave 
without returning any answer. About an hour after- 
ward he sent a verbal message to request that I 
should lose no time in quitting his town, as he 
begged to inform me, what he supposed I could not 
have been aware of, that it was then filled- with 
nearly two thousand Wahabees. This was indeed 
news to us ; it was somewhat earlier than we antici- 
pated falling in with them, but we put a good face on 
the matter, and behaved as coolly as we could." 

The next morning the Shekh returned, with a pos- 
itive refusal to allow them to proceed farther. Well- 
sted demanded a written refusal, as evidence which 



WELL8TED'8 EXPLORATIONS IN OMAN 53 

he could present to the Sultan, and this the Shekli at 
once promised to give. His object was evidently to 
force the traveller away from the place, and such 
was the threatening appearance of things that the 
latter had no wish to remain. The Wahabees 
crowded around the party in great numbers, and 
seemed only waiting for some pretext to commence 
an aifra3^ *' When the Shekh came and presented 
me with the letter for the Sultan," says Wellsted, " I 
knew it would be in vain to make any further effort 
to shake his resolution, and therefore did not attempt 
it. In the meantime news had spread far and wide 
that two Englishmen, with a box of ' dollars,' but in 
reality containing only the few clothes that we car- 
ried with us, had halted in the town. The Waha- 
bees and other tribes had met in deliberation, while 
the lower classes of the townsfolk were creating noise 
and confusion. The Shekh either had not the shad- 
ow of any influence, or was afraid to exercise it, and 
his followers evidently wished to share in the plun- 
der. It was time to act. I called Ali on one side, 
told him to make neither noise nor confusion, but to 
collect the camels without delay. In the meantime 
we had packed up the tent, the crowd increasing 
every minute ; the camels were ready, and we 
mounted on them. A leader, or some trifling inci- 
dent, was now only wanting to furnish them with a 
pretext for an onset. They followed us with hisses 
and various other noises until we got sufficient!}^ 
clear to push briskly forward ; and, beyond a few 
stones being thrown, we reached the outskirts of the 
town without further molestation. I had often be- 



54 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

fore heard of the inhospitable character of the in- 
habitants of this place. The neighboring Arabs ob- 
serve that to enter Obri a man must either go armed 
to the teeth, or as a beggar with a cloth, and that not 
of decent qnalitj, around his waist. Thus, for a sec- 
ond time, ended my hopes of reaching Derrey eh from 
this quarter." 

Wellsted was forced to return to Suweik, narrowly 
escaping a Bedouin ambush on the way. As a last 
attempt he followed the coast as far as Schinas, near 
the mouth of the Straits of Ormuz, and thence de- 
spatched a messenger to the Wahabees at Birsimah. 
This plan also failed, and he then returned to India. 
He has given us, however, the only authentic account 
of the scenerj^ and inhabitants of the interior of Oman, 
and his travels are thus an important contribution to 
our knowledge of Arabia. 

It is a sufficient commentary on the exclusive char- 
acter of Interior Arabia, and the difficulties that bar 
the way there to free and thorough exploration, that, 
although Lieutenant Wellsted's journey was in 1835, 
we still (1892) have to turn to his very interesting 
narrative for almost all we know of the interior of 
Oman. 



CHAPTER VI. 

WELLSTED'S DISCOVERY OF AN ANCIENT CITY IN 
HADRAMAUT 

WHILE emploj^ed in the survey of the southern 
coast of Arabia in the spring of 1835, Lieu- 
tenant Wellsted was occupied for a time near the 
cape called Ras el-Aseida, in Hadramaut, about one 
hundred miles east of Aden. On this cape there is 
a watch-tower, witli the guardian of which, an officer 
named Hamed, he became acquainted ; and on learn- 
ing from the Bedouins of the neighborhood that ex- 
tensive ruins, which they described as having been 
built by infidels, and of great antiquity, were to be 
found at some distance inland, he prevailed upon the 
officer to procure him camels and guides. 

One day, having landed with a midshipman in 
order to visit some inscriptions at a few hours' dis- 
tance, the Bedouins who brought the camels refused 
to go to the place, but expressed their willingness to 
convey the two Europeans to the ruined city. Ha- 
med declined to accompany them, on the plea of 
sickness, and they were unsupplied with provisions 
or presents for the Shelshs of the villages on tlie way. 
Still the chance was too tempting to be lost. Well- 
sted decided to trust himself to the uncertain pro- 
tection of the Bedouins, sent his boat to the survey- 



56 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

ing vessel with a message that it should meet him at 
a point farther to the westward at the end of three 
days, and set out for the ruins late in the afternoon. 

Leaving the sea-shore at sunset, they struck north- 
ward into the interior, and travelled until after mid- 
night, passing several villages of the Diyabi Bed- 
ouins, a very fierce and powerful tribe, who are 
dreaded by all their neighbors. Scraping for them- 
selves beds in the sand, the travellers slept until 
daybreak without being disturbed. The path soon 
after mounted a ledge about four hundred feet in 
height, from the summit of which they obtained an 
extensive but dreary view of the surrounding coun- 
try. Their route lay along a broad valley, skirted 
on each side by a lofty range of mountains. By 
eight o'clock the sun became so oppressive that the 
Bedouins halted under the shade of some stunted 
tamarisk trees. "Within these burning hollows," 
says Wellsted, " the sun's rays are concentrated and 
thrown off as from a mirror ; the herbs around were 
scorched to a cindery blackness ; not a cloud ob- 
scured the firmament, and the breeze which moaned 
past us was of a glowing heat, like that escaping 
from the mouth of a furnace. Our guides dug hol- 
lows in the sand, and thrust their blistered feet 
within them. Although we were not long in avail- 
ing ourselves of the practical lesson they had taught 
us, I began to be far from pleased with their churl- 
ish demeanor." 

During the day they travelled over sandy and 
stony ridges, and late in the afternoon entered the 
Wady Meifah, where they found wells of good water 



DISCOVERY OF AN ANCIENT CITY 57 

and scanty vegetation. " The country now began to 
assume a far different aspect. Isumerous hamlets, 
interspersed amid extensive date groves, verdant 
fields. of grain, and herds of sleek cattle, showed 
themselves in every direction, and we now fell in 
with parties of inhabitants for the first time since 
leaving the sea-shore. Astonishment was depicted 
on their countenances, but as we did not halt they 
had no opportunity of gratifying their curiosity by 
gazing at us for any length of time." 

One of the Bedouins, however, in spite of Well- 
sted's remonstrances, told the people that the trav- 
ellers were in search of buried treasure. When the 
latter attempted to encamp near a village, the inhab- 
itants requested them to remove ; the guides proved 
to be ignorant of the road in the night, and they 
would have been suifered to wander about without 
shelter but for the kindness of an old woman, who 
conducted them to her house. This proved to be a 
kind of khan for travellers, and was already so 
crowded that the travellers were obliged to sleep in 
an open courtyard. 

They were hardly prepared for the scene which 
dajdight disclosed to them. " The dark verdure of 
fields of millet, sorghum, tobacco, etc., extended as 
far as the eye could reacli. Mingled with these we 
had the soft acacia and the stately but more sombre 
foliage of the date palm ; while tlie creaking of nu- 
merous wheels with which the grounds were irrigat- 
ed, and in the distance several rude ploughs drawn 
by oxen, the ruddy and lively appearance of the peo- 
ple, who now flocked toward us from all quarters. 



58 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

and the delightful and refreshing coolness of the 
moi'ning air, combined to form a scene whicli he who 
gazes on the barren aspect of the coast could never 
anticipate. 

After three liours' travel through this bright and 
populous region, they came in sight of the ruins, 
which the inhabitants call Nakdb el-Hadjar (mean- 
ing " Tlie Excavation from the Rock "). According 
to Wellsted's estimate, they are about fifty miles 
from the coast. 

The following is Wellsted's description of the 
place : " The hill upon which these ruins are situ- 
ated stands out in the centre of the. valley, and di- 
vides a stream which passes, during floods, on either 
side of it. It is nearly eight hundred yards in length, 
and about thi-ee hundred and fifty yards at its ex- 
treme breadth. About a third of the height from its 
base a massive wall, averaging from thirtj' to forty 
feet in height, is carried completely around the emi- 
nence, and flanked by square towers, erected at equal 
distances. There are but two entrances, north and 
south ; a hollow, square tower, measuring fourteen 
feet, stands on both sides of these. Their bases ex- 
tend to the plain below, and are carried out consider- 
ably beyond the rest of the building. Between the 
towers, at an elevation of twenty feet from the plain, 
there is an oblong platform which projects about 
eighteen feet without and within the walls. A flight 
of steps was apparently once attached to either ex- 
tremity of the building. 

" Within the entrance, at an elevation of ten feet 
from the platform, we found inscriptions. They are 



DISCOVERT OF AN ANCIENT CITY 59 

executed with extreme care, in two liorizontal lines, 
on the smooth face of the stones, the letters being 
about eight inches long. Attempts have been made, 
though without success, to obliterate them. Fi'om 
the conspicuous situation which thej occupy, there 
can be but little doubt but that, when deciphered, 
thejwill be found to contain the name of the founder 
of the building, as well as the date and purport of its 
erection.* The whole of the walls and tow^ers, and 
some of the edifices within, are built of the same ma- 
terial — a compact grayisli-colored marble, hewn to 
the required shape with the utmost nicety. The di- 
mensions oi the slabs at the base were from five to 
seven feet in length, two to three in height, and three 
to four in breadth. 

" Let us now visit the interior, where the most 
conspicuous object is an oblong square building, the 
walls of which face the cardinal points: its dimen- 
sions are twenty-seven by seventeen yards. The 
walls are fronted with a kind of freestone, each slab 
being cut of the same size, and the whole so beauti- 
fully put together that I endeavored in vain to insert 
the blade of a small penknife between them. The 
outer, unpolished surface is covered with small chisel- 
marks, which the Bedouins have mistaken for writ- 
ing. From the extreme care displayed in the con- 
struction of this building, I have no doubt that it is 
a temple, and my disappointment at finding the in- 

* The inscription, which is copied in Lieutenant Wellsted's 
work, appears to be in the Himyaritic character. If any transla- 
tion of it has ever been made, the compiler is unable to say where 
it can be found. 



60 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

tei'ior filled up with the ruins of the fallen roof was 
very great. Had it remained entire, we might have 
obtained some clew to guide us in our researches re- 
specting the form of religion professed by the earlier 
Arabs. Above and beyond this building there are 
several other edifices, with nothing peculiar in their 
form or appearance. 

" In no portion of the ruins did we succeed in 
tracing any remains of arches or columns, nor could 
we discover on their surface any of those fragments 
of pottery, colored glass, or metals, which are always 
found in old Egyptian towns, and which I also saw 
in those we discovered on tlie northwest coast of 
Arabia. Except the attempts to deface the inscrip- 
tions, there is no other appearance of the buildings 
having suffered from any ravages besides those of 
time ; and owing to the dryness of the climate, as 
well as the hardness of the material, every stone, 
even to the marking of the chisel, remains as perfect 
as the day it was hewn, We were anxious to ascer- 
tain if the Arabs had preserved any tradition con- 
cerning the building, but they refer them, like other 
Arabs, to their pagan ancestors. ' Do you believe,' 
said one of the Bedouins to me upon my telling him 
that his ancestors were then capable of greater works 
than themselves, ' that these stones were raised by 
the unassisted hands of the Kafirs ? No ! no ! They 
had devils, legions of devils (God preserve us from 
them !), to aid them.' " 

On his return to the sea, which occupied a day and 
a half, Wellsted was kindly treated by the natives, 
and suifered only from the intense heat. The vessel 



DISCOVERY OF AN ANCIENT CITY 61 

was fortunately waiting at the appointed place. Since 
the jonrney was made (in 1836) Baron von Wrede, 
a German ti-aveller, has succeeded in exploring a por- 
tion of Hadramant, penetrating as far asAVady Doan. 
a large and populous valley, more than a hundred 
miles from the coast. But a thorough exploration of 
both Yemen and Hadramaut is still wanting, and 
when made, it will undoubtedly result in many im- 
portant discoveries. 



CHAPTER Vn. 

BURTON'S PILGRIMAGE 

CAPTAIN PJCHARD F. BUPTON, the dis- 
covei-ei- of tlie great Lake Tanganyika, in Cen- 
tral Africa, first became known to tlie world by his 
daring and entirely successful visit to Medina and 
Mecca, in the year 1853, in the disguise of a Moslem 
pilgrim. Although his journey was that of Burck- 
hardt, reversed, and he describes the same ceremonies, 
his account supplies many deficiencies in the narrative 
of his predecessor, and has the merit of a livelier and 
more graphic style. 

Burton's original design was to cross the Arabian 
Peninsula from west to east, as Palgrave has since 
done, and the Royal Geographical Society was dis- 
posed to accept his services. But he failed to obtain 
a sufficient leave of absence from the East India 
Company, which only granted him a furlough of one 
year — a period quite insufficient for the undertaking' 
He therefore determined to prove at least his fitness 
for the task, by making the pilgrimage to the hoh^ 
cities. He was already familiar with the Arabic and 
Persian languages, and had the advantage of an 
Eastern cast of countenance. 

Like Burckhardt, he assumed an Oriental character 
at the start, and during the voyage from Southamp- 



BURTON'S PILGRIMAGE 63 

ton to Alexandria was supposed to be a Persian 
prince. For two or three months he laboriously ap- 
plied himself in Egypt to the necessary religious 
studies, joiiied a society of dervishes, under the name 
of Shekh Abdullah, kept the severe fast of Kamazan, 
and familiarized himself with all the orthodox forms 
of ablution, prayer, and prostration. He gave him- 
self out to be an Afghan by birth, but long absent 
from his native counti-y, a character which was well 
adapted to secure him against detection. During his 
stay in Cairo he made the acquaintance of a boy 
named Mohammed el-Basyuni, a native of Mecca, 
who became his companion for the journey, and who 
seems not to have suspected his real character until 
the pilgrimage was over. 

Having purchased a tent and laid in an ample 
supply of provisions, with about four hundred dollars 
in money, he went to Suez about July 1st, with 
the avowed purpose of proceeding to Mecca by way 
of Jedda, yet with the secret intention of visiting 
Medina on the way. Here he became acquaint- 
ed with a company of pilgrims, whose good-will 
he secured by small loans of money, and joined 
them in taking passage in a large Arab boat bound 
for Yembo. The vessel was called the Golden 
Wire. " Immense was the confusion," says Burton, 
" on the eventful day of our departure. Suppose us 
standing on the beach, on the morning of a fiery 
July day, carefully watching our hurriedly-packed 
goods and chattels, surrounded by a mob of idlers 
who are not too proud to pick up waifs and strays, 
while pilgrims rush about apparently mad, and friends 



64 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

are weeping, acquaintances vociferating adienx, boat- 
men demanding fees, shopmen claiming debts, women 
shrieking and talking with inconceivable power, chil- 
dren crj'ing — in short, for an honr or so we were in 
the thick of a human storm. To confound confusion, 
the boatmen have moored their skiff half a dozen 
yards away from the shoi'e, lest the porters should be 
■unable to make more than double their fare from the 
pilgrims." 

They sailed on July 6th, and were five days in 
reaching the mouth of the Gulf of Akaba, While 
crossing to the Arabian shore, the pilgrims are ac- 
customed to repeat the following prayer, which is a 
good example of Moslem invocation : " O x\llah, O 
Exalted, O Almighty, O All-pitiful, O All-powerful, 
thou art my God, and sufRceth to me the knowledge 
of it ! Glorified be the Lord my Lord, and glorified 
be the faith my faith ! Thougivest victor}' to whom 
thou pleaseth, and thou art the glorious, the merci- 
ful ! We pray thee for safety in our goings-forth 
and in our standings-still, in our words and our de- 
signs, in our dangers of temptation and doubts, and 
the secret designs of our hearts. Subject unto us 
this sea, even as thou didst subject the deep to 
Moses, and as thou didst subject the fire to Abra- 
ham, and as thou didst subject the iron to David, 
and as thou didst subject the wind, and devils, and 
genii, and mankind to Solomon, and as thou didst 
subject the moon and El-Burak to Mohammed, upon 
whom be Allah's mercy and His blessing ! And 
subject unto us all the seas in earth and heaven, in 
the visible and in thine invisible worlds, the sea of 



BURTON 8 PILGRIMAGE 65 

this life, and the sea of futurity. O thou wlio reign- 
est over everything, and unto whom all things re- 
turn, Khjar ! Khyar ! " 

A further voyage of another week, uncomfortable 
and devoid of incident, brought the vessel to Yembo. 
As the pilgrims were desirous of pushing on to Me- 
dina, camels were hired on the day of arrival, and, a 
week's provisions having been purchased, the little 
caravan started the next afternoon. Burton, by the 
advice of his companions, assumed the Arab dress, 
but travelled in a litter, both because of an injury 
to his foot, and because he could thus take notes on 
the way without being observed. On account of 
the heat the caravan travelled mostly by night ; the 
country, thus dimly seen, was low and barren for 
the first two days, but on the third day they reached 
a wilder region, which Burton thus describes : " We 
travelled through a country fantastic in its desolation 
— a mass of huge hills, barren plains, and desert 
vales. Even the sturdy acacias here failed, and in 
some places the camel grass could not find earth 
enough to take root in. The road wound among 
mountains, rocks, and hills of granite, over broken 
ground, flanked by huge blocks and bowlders, piled up 
as if man's art had aided nature to disfigure herself. 
Yast clefts seemed like scars on the hideous face of 
earth ; here they widened into dark caves, there they 
were choked up with glistening drift sand. Not a 
bird or a beast was to be seen or heard ; their pres- 
ence would have argued the vicinity of water, and 
though my companions opined that Bedouins were 
lurking among the rocks, I decided that these Bedou- 



66 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

ins were the creatures of their fears. Above, a sky 
lil^e polished bhie steel, with a tremendous blaze of 
yellow light, glared upon us, without the thinnest veil 
of mist or cloud. The distant prospect, indeed, was 
more attractive than the near view, because it bor- 
rowed a bright azure tinge from the intervening 
atmosphere ; but the jagged peaks and the perpendicu- 
lar streaks of shadow down the flanks of the moun- 
tainous background showed that no change for the 
better was yet in store for us." 

At the little towns of El-Hamra and Bir Abbas 
the caravan rested a day, suffering much fi-om the 
intense heat, and with continnal quarrels between the 
pilgrims and the Arabs to whom the camels belonged. 
At the latter place they were threatened with a de- 
tention of several days, but the difficulty was settled, 
and they set out upon the most dangerous portion of 
the road. " We travelled that night," says Burton 
" np a dry river-course in an easterly direction, and 
at early dawn found ourselves in an ill-famed gorge, 
called Shuah cl-IIadj (the 'Pilgrim's Pass'). The 
loudest talkers became silent as we neared it, and 
their countenances showed apprehension written in 
legible chai-acters. Presently, from the high, pre- 
cipitous cliff on our left, thin blue curls of smoke — 
somehow or other they caught every eye — rose in the 
air, and instantly afterward rang the loud, sharp 
cracks of the hill-men's matchlocks, echoed by the 
rocks on the i-ight. My shugduf had been broken by 
the camel's falling during the night, so I called out 
to Mansiir that we had better splice the frame-work 
with a bit of rope ; he looked np, saw me laughing. 



BUETOKS PILGRIMAGE 67 

and with an ejaculation of disgust disappeared. A 
number of Bedouins were to be seen swarming like 
hornets over the crests of the rocks, bojs as well as 
men carrying huge weapons, and climbing with the 
agility of cats. They took up comfortable places in 
the cut-throat eminence, and began firing upon us 
with perfect convenience to themselves. The height 
of the hills and the glare of the rising sun prevented 
my seeing objects very distinctly, but my companions 
pointed out to me places where tlie rock had been 
scarped, and a kind of breastwork of rough stones — 
the Sangah of Afghanistan, piled up as a defence, 
and a rest for the long barrel of the matchlock. It 
was useless to challenge the Bedouins to come down 
and fight us upon the plain like men ; and it was 
equally unprofitable for our escort to fire upon a foe 
ensconced behind stones. We had, therefore, nothing 
to do but to blaze away as much powder and to 
veil ourselves in as much smoke as possible ; the re- 
sult of the affair was that we lost twelve men, be- 
sides camels and other beasts of burden. Thousrh 
the bandits showed no symptoms of bravery, and 
confined themselves to slaughtering the enemy from 
their hill-top, my companions seemed to consider 
this questionable affair a most gallant exploit." 

After two more days of severe travel, the pilgrims, 
at early dawn, came in sight of the holy city of Me- 
dina. Burton thus describes the approach, and the 
view from the western ridge : " Half an liour after 
leaving the Wady el-Akik, or ' Blessed Yalley,' we 
came to a huge flight of steps, roughly cut in a long, 
broad line of black, scoriaceous basalt. This is 



68 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

called the Mudm^raj, or flight of steps over the 
western ridge of the so-called El-Harratain ; it is 
holy ground, for the Prophet spoke well of it. 
Arrived at the top, we passed through a lane of 
black scoria, with deep banks on both sides, and, 
after a few minntes a full view of the city snddenly 
opened on us. We lialted our beasts as if hj word 
of command. All of us descended, in imitation of 
the pious of old, and sat down, jaded and hungry as 
we were, to feast our eyes with a view of the Holy 
City. The prayer was, ' O Allah ! this is the Haram 
(sanctuary) of the Prophet ; make it to us a protec- 
tion from hell fire, and a refuge from eternal punish- 
ment ! O, open the gates of thy mercy, and let us 
pass through them to the land of joy ! ' 

" As we looked eastward, the sun arose out of the 
horizon of low hills, blurred and dotted with small 
tufted trees, which gained a giant stature from the 
morning mists, and the earth was stained with gold 
and purple. Before us lay a spacious plain, bounded 
in front by the undulating ground of Kedjed ; on the 
left was a grim barrier of rocks, the celebrated Mount 
Ohod, with a clump of verdure and a white dome or 
two nestling at its base. Rightward, broad streaks 
of lilac-colored mists were thick with gathered dew, 
there pierced and thinned by the morning rays, 
stretched over the date-groves and the gardens of 
Kuba, which stood out in emerald green from the 
dull tawny surface of the plain. Below, at the dis- 
tance of about two miles, lay El Medina ; at first 
sight it appeared a large place, but a closer inspection 
proved the impression to be an erroneous one." 



I 1:1 ' "flii;; 




BUBTON'8 PILGRIMAGE 69 

On aiTiviiig at Medina, Burton became the guest 
of one of the company he had met at Suez, and dur- 
ing his stay of a month in the city performed all the 
religious ceremonies and visitations which are pre- 
scribed for the pilgrim. He gives the following de- 
sc]"iption of the Prophet's mosque : " Passing through 
muddy streets — they had been freshly watered before 
evening time — I came suddenly upon the mosque. 
Like that at Mecca, the approach is choked up by 
ignoble buildings, some actually touching the holy 
' enceinte,' others separated by a lane compared with 
which the road around St. Paul's is a Vatican square. 
There is no outer front, no general aspect of the 
Prophet's mosque ; consequently, as a building it 
has neither beauty nor dignity. And entering the 
Bab el-K.ahmah — the Gate of Pity — by a diminutive 
flight of steps, I was astonished at the mean and 
tawdry appearance of a place so universally venerated 
in the Moslem world. It is not like the Meccan 
mosque, grand and simple — the expression of a single 
sublime idea ; the longer I looked at it the more it 
suggested the resemblance of a museum of second- 
rate art, a curiosity-shop, full of ornaments that are 
not accessories, and decorated with pauper splendor." 

We must also quote the traveller's account of his 
manner of spending the day during his residence in 
Medina : " At dawn we arose, washed, prayed, and 
broke our fast upon a crust of stale bread, before 
smoking a pipe, and drinking a cup of coffee. Then 
it was time to dress, to mount, and to visit the Harani 
in one of the holy places outside the city. Peturn- 
ino; before the sun became intolerable, we sat to- 



70 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

gether, and with conversation, sliislias and chibouques, 
coffee and cold water perfumed with mastich-snioke, 
we whiled away the time till our ariston, an early 
dinner which appeared at the primitive hour of 11 
A.M. The meal was served in the majlis on a large 
copper tray sent from the upper apartments. Ejacu- 
lating ' Bismillah ' — the Moslem grace — we all sat 
round it, and dipped equal hands in the dishes set 
before us. We had usually unleavened bread, differ- 
ent kinds of meat and vegetable stews, and at the end 
of the first course plain boiled rice, eaten with spoons ; 
then came the fruits, fresh dates, grapes, and pome- 
granates. After dinner I used invariably to find 
some excuse — such as the habit of a ' Kaylulah ' (mid- 
day siesta), or the being a ' Saudawi,' or person of 
melancholy temperament, to have a rug spread in the 
dark passage, and there to lie reading, dozing, smok- 
ing, or M'ritiiig, all through the worst part of the daj^, 
from noon to sunset. Then came the hour for re- 
ceiving and paying visits. The evening pra_yers en- 
sued, either at home or in the liarani, followed by 
our supper, another substantial meal like the dinner, 
but more plentiful, of bread, meat, vegetables, rice, 
and fruits. In the evening we sometimes dressed in 
common clothes and went to Jthe cafe ; sometimes 
on festive occasions we indulged m a late supper of 
sweetmeats, pomegranates, and dried fruits. Usually 
we sat upon matti'esses spread upon the ground in 
the open air, at the Shekh's door, receiving evening 
visits, chatting, telling stories, and making merry, 
till each, as he felt the approach of the drowsy god, 
sank down into his proper place, and fell asleep." 



BURTON'S PILOBIMAQE Yl 

Barton was charmed with the garden and date- 
groves about Medina, and enjoyed the excursions, 
which were enjoined upon liim as a pilgrim, to Jebel 
Ohod, the mosque of Kuba, and otlier places in the 
vicinity of the city. On August 28th the caravan of 
pilgrims from Damascus arrived, and, on account of 
danger from the Bedouins, decided to leave on the 
fourth day afterward, taking the Desert road to 
Mecca, the same travelled by the Caliph Haroun El- 
Raschid and his wife Zobeida, instead of the longer 
road nearer the coast, which Burckhardt had fol- 
lowed. AVhen this plan was announced, Burton and 
his companions had but twentj^-four hours to make 
the necessary preparations ; but by hard work they 
were ready. Leaving Medina, they hastened ouAvai'd 
to secure good places in the caravan, which was com- 
posed of about seven thousand pilgrims, and extended 
over many miles of the road. 

For the first four days they travelled southward 
over a wild, desolate country, almost destitute of 
water and vegetation. On account of heat, as well 
as for greater security, the journey was made chiefly 
by night, although the forced marches between the 
wells obliged them sometimes to endure the greatest 
heat of the day. Burton says : " I can scarcely find 
words to express the weary horrors of a long night's 
march, during which the hapless traveller, fuming, 
if a European, with disappointment in his hopes of 
' seeing the country,' is compelled to sit upon the 
back of a creeping camel. The day sleep, too, is a 
kind of lethargy, and it is all but impossible to pre- 
serve an appetite during the hours of heat." 



72 TMA VELS IN ARABIA 

After making ninety-nine miles from Medina, tliey 
readied the village of El Snwajrkijali, which is in- 
cluded within the Meccan territory. The town, con- 
sisting of about one hundred houses, is built at the 
base and on the sides of a basaltic mass which lises 
abruptly from the hard clayey plain. The summit 
is converted into a rude fortalice by a bulwark of 
uncut stone, piled up so as to make a parapet. The 
lower part of the town is protected by a mud wall, 
with the usual semicircular towers. Inside there is 
a bazaar, well supplied with meat (principally mut- 
ton) by the neighboring Bedouins, and wheat, barley, 
and dates are grown near the town. There is little 
to describe in the narrow streets and the mud houses, 
Mdiich are essentially Arab. The fields ai'ound are 
divided into little square .plots by earthen ridges and 
stone walls ; some of the palms are fine grown trees, 
and the wells appeared numerous. The water is 
near the surface and plentiful, but it has a brackish 
taste, highly disagreeable after a few days' use, and 
the effects are the reverse of chalybeate. 

Seventeen miles beyond El Suwayrkiyah is the 
small village of Sufayuah, beyond which the coun- 
try becomes again very wild and barren. Burton 
thus describes the scenery the day after leaving 
Sufayuah : " This day's march was peculiarly Ara- 
bia. It was a desert peopled only with echoes — a 
place of death for what little there is to die in it — 
a wilderness where, to use my companion's phrase, 
there is nothing but He (Allah). Nature, scalped, 
flayed, discovered her anatomy to the gazer's eye. 
The horizon was a sea of mii-age ; gigantic sand- 



BURTON'S PiLORIMAGE 73 

columns whirled over the plain ; and on both sides 
of our road were huge piles of bare rock standing 
detached upon the surface of sand and clay. Here 
they appeared in oval lumps, heaped up with a sem- 
blance of symmetry ; there a single bowlder stood, 
with its narrow foundation based upon a pedestal of 
low, dome-shaped rock. All are of a pink coarse- 
grained granite, which flakes off in large crusts 
under the influence of the atmosphere." 

After four more long marches the caravan reached 
a station called El Zaribah, where the pilgrims 
halted a day to assume the ikram^ or costume which 
they wear on approaching Mecca, They were now 
in the country of the Utaybah Bedouins, the most 
fierce and hostile of all the tribes on the road. Al- 
though only two marches, or fifty miles, from Mecca, 
the pilgrims were by no means safe, as the night 
after they left Zaribah testified. While threading 
a narrow pass between high rocks, in the twilight, 
there was a sudden dischai:ge of musketry ar.d some 
camels dropped dead. The Utaybah, hidden behind 
the rocks crowning the pass, poured down an irregular 
fire upon the pilgrims, who were panic-stricken and 
fell into great disorder. The "Wahabees, however, 
commenced scaling the rocks, and very soon drove 
the robbers from their ambush. The caravan then 
hurried forward in great disorder, leaving the dead 
and severely wounded lying on the ground. 

" At the beginning of the skirmish," says Burton, 
" I had primed my pistols, and sat with them ready 
for use. But soon seeing that there was nothing to 
be done, and, wishing to make an impression — no- 



74 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

where does Bobadil now ' go down ' but in the 
East — I called aloud for mj supper. Shekli Isur, 
exanimate with fear, could not move. The boy Mo- 
hammed ejaculated only an 'Oh, sir!' and the 
people around exclaimed in disgust, ' By Allah ! he 
eats ! ' Shekli Abdullah, the Meccan, being a man 
of spirit, was amused by the spectacle. ' Are these 
Afghan manners, Effendim ? ' he inquired from the 
shugduf behind me. 'Yes,' I replied aloud, 'in 
my country we always dine befoi-e an attack of rob- 
bers, because that gentry is in the habit of sending 
men to bed supperless.' The Shekh laughed aloud, 
but those around him looked offended." 

The morning after this adventure the pilgrims 
reached the Wady Laymun, or Valley of Limes, a 
beautiful region of gardens and orchards, only twen- 
ty-four miles from Mecca. Here they halted four 
hours to rest and enjoy the fruits and fresh water ; 
then the line of march was resumed toward the Holy 
City. In the afternoon the range of Jebel Kora, in 
the southeast, became visible, and as evening ap- 
proached all eyes were strained, but in vain, for a 
sight of Mecca. Kight came down, and the pilgrims 
moved slowl}^ onward in the darkness. An hour 
after midnight Burton was roused by a general ex- 
citement in the caravan. "Mecca! Mecca!" cried 
some voices ; " The Sanctuary, O the Sanctuary ! " 
exclaimed others, and all burst into loud cries of 
" LaheyJc ,^" not unfrequently broken b}^ sobs. Look- 
ing out from his litter the traveller saw by the 
light- of the southern stars the dim outlines of a 
large city. They were passing over the last rocky 



BURTON'S PILGRIMAGE T5 

2-idge by an artificial cut. The winding path was 
flanked on both sides bj' liigh watch - towers ; a 
short distance farther they entered the northern sub- 
urb. 

The Meccan boy Mohammed, who had been Bur- 
ton's companion during the pilgrimage, conducted 
the latter to his mother's house, where he remained 
during his stay. A meal of vermicelli and sugar 
was prepared on their arrival in the night, and after 
an hour or two of sleep they rose at dawn, in order 
to perform the ceremonies of arrival. After having 
bathed, they walked in their pilgrim garb to the 
Beit Allah, or " House of God." 

" There," says Burton, " there at last it lay, the 
bourne of my long and weary pilgrimage, realizing 
the plans and hopes of many and many a year. 
The mirage medium of fancy invested the huge cata- 
falque and its gloomy pall with peculiar charms. 
There were no giant fragments of hoar antiquity as 
in Egypt, no remains of graceful and harmonious 
beauty as in Greece and Italy, no barbaric gorgeous- 
ness as in the buildings of India ; yet the view was 
strange, unique, and how few have looked upon the 
celebrated shrine ! I may truly say, that, of all the 
worshippers who clung weeping to the curtain, or 
who pressed their beating hearts to the stone, none 
felt for the moment a deeper emotion than did the 
Hadji from the far north. It was as if the poetical 
legends of the Arab spoke truth, and that the waving 
wings of angels, not the sweet breezes of morning, 
were agitating and swelling the black covering of 
the shrine. But, to confess humbling truth, theii-s 



T6 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

was the liigli feeling of religions entimsiasm, mine 
was the ecstasy of gratified pride." 

Bnrton's description of the Beit Allah and the 
Kaaba is more minnte and careful than that of 
Burckhardt, but does not differ from it in any im- 
portant particular. ISTeither is it necessary to quote 
his account of the ceremonies to be performed by 
each individual pilgrim, with all their mechanical 
prostrations and repetitions. His account of the 
visit to the famous Black Stone, however, is both 
curious and amusing : " For a long time I stood look- 
ing in despair at the swarming crowd of Bedouin and 
other pilgrims that besieged it. But the boy Mo- 
hammed was equal to the occasion. During our cir- 
cuit he had displayed a fiery zeal against lieresy and 
schism by foully abusing ever}'- Persian in his path, 
and the inopportune introduction of hard words into 
his prayers made the latter a strange patchwork. He 
might, for instance, be repeating ' and I take refuge 
with thee from ignominy in this world,' when, ' O 
thou rejected one, son of the rejected ! ' would be 
the interpolation addressed to some long-beai'ded 
Khorassani, 'and in that to come — O hog and 
brother of a hoggess ! ' And so he continued till 
I wondered that no one dared to turn and rend him. 
After vainly addressing the pilgrims, of whom noth- 
ing could be seen but a mosaic of occiputs and 
slioulder-blades, the boy Mohammed collected about 
half a dozen stalwart Meccans, with whose assistance, 
by sheer strength, we wedged our waj^ into the thin 
and light-legged crowd. The Bedouins turned round 
upon us like wildcats, but they had no daggers. The 



BURTON'S PILGRIMAGE 77 

season being autumn, they had not swelled them- 
selves with millc for six months ; and they had be- 
come such living mummies that I could have man- 
aged single-handed half a dozen of them. After 
thus reaching the stone, despite popular indignation, 
testified by impatient shouts, we monopolized the use 
of it for at least ten minutes. Whilst kissing it and 
rubbing hands and forehead upon it I narrowly ob- 
served it, and came away persuaded that it is a big 
aerolite." 

On September 12th the pilgrims set out for 
Mount Arafat. Three miles from Mecca there is a 
large village called Muna, noted for three standing 
miracles — the pebbles, there thrown at the Devil, 
return by angelic agency to whence they came ; dur- 
ing the three days of drying meat rapacious birds 
and beasts cannot prey there, and flies do not settle 
upon the articles of food exposed in the bazaars. 
Beyond the place there is a mosque called El Khayf, 
where, according to some traditions, Adam is buried, 
his head being at one end of the long wall and his 
feet at the other, while the dome is built over his 
navel. 

"Arafat," says Burton, "is about a six hours' march, 
or twelve miles, on the Taif road, due east of Mecca. 
We arrived there in a shorter time, but our weary 
camels, during the last third of the way, frequently 
threw themselves upon the ground. Human beings 
suffered more. Betw^een Muna and Arafat I saw no 
less than five men fall down and die upon the high- 
way ; exhausted and moribund, they had dragged 
themselves out to give up the ghost where it departs to 



78 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

instant beatitude. Tlie spectacle showed how easy it 
is to die in these latitudes ; each man suddenly stag- 
gered, fell as if shot, and, after a brief convulsion, 
lay still as marble. The corpses were carefully taken 
up, and carelessly buried that same evening, in a 
vacant space amongst the crowds encamped upon the 
Arafat plain. 

" Nothing can be more picturesque than the view 
the mountain affords of the blue peaks behind, and 
the vast encampment scattered over the barren 
yellow plain below. On the north lay the regularly 
pitched camp of the guards that defend the unarmed 
pilgrims. To the eastward was the Scherif's encamp- 
ment with the bright mahmals and the gilt knobs of 
the grander pavilions ; whilst, on the southern and 
western sides, the tents of the vulgar crowded the 
ground, disposed in dowars, or circles, for penning 
cattle. After many calculations, I estimated the 
number to be not less than fifty thousand, of all ages 
and both sexes." 

After the sermon on Arafat, which Burton de- 
scribes in the same manner as Burckhardt, the 
former gives an account of the subsequent ceremony 
of " stoning the Great Devil " near the village of 
Muna : "' The Shaytan el-Kabir' is a dwarf buttress 
of rude masonry, about eight feet high by two and a 
half broad, placed against a rough wall of stones, at 
the Meccan entrance to Muna. As the ceremony of 
' Ramy,' or Lapidation, must be performed on the 
first day by all pilgrims between sunrise and sunset, 
and as the Fiend was malicious enough to appear in a 
rugged pass, the crowd makes the place dangerous. 



BURTON'S PILGRIMAGE 79 

On one side of the road, which is not forty feet 
broad, stood a row of shops belonging principally to 
barbers. On the other side is the rugged wall of the 
pillar, with a ohevaux defrise of Bedouins and naked 
boys. The narrow space was crowded with pilgrims, 
all struggling like drowning men to approach as near 
as possible to the Devil ; it would have been easy 
to run over the heads of the mass. Amongst them 
were horsemen with rearing chargers. Bedouins on 
wild camels, and grandees on mules and asses, with 
outrunners, were breaking a way by assault and bat- 
tery. I had read Ali Bey's self-felicitations upon es- 
caping this place with ' only two wounds in the left 
leg,' and had duly provided myself with a hidden 
dagger. The precaution was not useless. Scarcely 
had ray donkey entered the crowd than he was over- 
thrown by a dromedary, and I found myself under 
the stamping and roaring beast's stomach. By a 
judicious use of the knife, I avoided being trampled 
upon, and lost no time in escaping from a place so 
ignobly dangerous. Finding an opening at last, we 
approached within about five cubits of the place, 
and holding each stone between the thumb and fore- 
finger of the ring hand, cast it at the pillar, exclaim- 
ing : ' In the name of Allah, and Allah is Almighty, 
1 do this in hatred of the Fiend and to his shame.' 
The seven stones being duly thrown, we retired, and 
entering the barber's booth, took our places upon one 
of the earthen benches around it. This was the time 
to remove the ihram or pilgrim's garb, and to return 
to ihlal, the normal state of El Islam. The barber 
shaved our heads, and, after trimming our beards 



80 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

and cutting our nails, made us repeat tliese words : 
' I purpose loosening ray ihram according to the 
practice of the Prophet, whom may Allah bless and 
preserve ! O Allah, make unto me in every hair a 
light, a purity, and a generous reward ! In the name 
of Allah, and Allah is Almighty!' At the conclu- 
sion of his labor the barber politely addressed to us a 
' Naiman ' — Pleasure to you ! To which we as 
ceremoniously replied, ' Allah give thee pleasure ! ' " 
"We will conclude these quotations from Burton's 
narrative with his description of a sermon in the 
great mosque of Mecca. " After returning to the 
city from the sacrifice of sheep in the valley of Muna, 
we bathed, and when noon drew nigh we repaired to 
the Haram for the purpose of hearing the sermon. 
Descending to the cloisters below the Bab el-Ziyadah, 
I stood wonderstruck by the scene before me. The 
vast quadrangle was crowded with worshippers sitting 
in long rows, and everywhere facing the central black 
tower ; the showy colors of their dresses were not to 
be surpassed by a garden of the most brilliant flow- 
ers, and such diversity of detail would pi-obably not 
be seen massed together in any other building upon 
earth. The women, a dull and sombre-looking group, 
sat apart in their peculiar place. The Pasha stood on 
the roof of Zem Zera, surrounded by guards in Ni- 
zam uniform. Where the principal ulema stationed 
themselves the crowd was thicker ; and in the more 
auspicious spots naught was to be seen but a pave- 
ment of heads and shoulders. Nothing seemed to 
move but a few dervishes, who, censer in hand, sidled 
through the rows and received the unsolicited alms 




COSTUME OF PILGRIMS TO MECCA. 



BURTON'S PILGRIMAGE 81 

of the faithful. Apparently in the midst, and raised 
above the crowd by the tall, pointed pulpit, whose 
gilt spire flamed in the sun, sat the preacher, an old 
man with snowy beard. The style of head-dress 
called ' taylasan ' covered his turban, which was 
white as his robes, and a short staff supported his 
left hand. Presently lie arose, took the staff in his 
right hand, pronounced a few inaudible words, and 
sat down again on one of the lower steps, whilst a 
Muezzin, at the foot of the pulpit, recited the call to 
sermon. Then the old man stood up and began to 
preach. As the majestic figure began to exert it- 
self there was a deep silence. Presently a general 
' Amin ' was intoned by the crowd at the conclusion 
of some long sentence. And at last, toward the end 
of the seruion, every third or fourth word was fol- 
lowed by the simultaneous ]-ise and fall of thousands 
of voices. 

" I have seen the religious ceremonies of many 
lands, but never — nowhere — aught so solemn, so im- 
pressive as this spectacle." 

Finding that it was impossible for him to under- 
take the journey across Central Arabia, both for lack 
of time and the menacing attitude of the Desert tribes. 
Burton left Mecca for Jedda at the end of Septem- 
ber, Starting in the afternoon, the chance caravan 
of returning pilgrims reached, about midnight, a mass 
of huts called El Hadda, which is the usual half-way 
halting-place. It is maintained solely for the pur- 
pose of supplying travellers with coffee and water. 
Here the country slopes gradually toward the sea, 
the hills recede, and every feature denotes departure 



82 TBAVEL8 IN ARABIA 

from the upland plateau of Mecca. After reaching 
here, and at some solitary colfee-honses farther on 
the way, the pilgrims reached Jedda safely at eight 
in the morning. 

From this place Burton took passage on a steamer 
for Suez, and returned to Cairo, but without the 
Meccan boy, Mohammed, wlio began to have a sus- 
picion of his true character, after seeing him in com- 
pany with some English officers, and who left him 
before embarking. 



CHAPTER YIIT. 

PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS IN CENTRAL ARABIA: FROM 
PALESTINE TO THE DJOWF 

MR. WILLIAM GIFFORD PALGRAVE, son 
of Sir Francis Pulgrave, the histoi-ian, per- 
formed, in 1862-63, a jonrney in Arabia, which gives 
us the first clear and full account of the interior of 
the country, inclnding the great Wahabee state of 
]^edjed, the early home of Arabian poetry and also 
of the famous Arabian breed of horses. Mr. Pal- 
grave's qualifications for the undertaking were in 
some respects superior to those of either Burckhardt 
or Burton. To a high degree of general culture and 
a vigorous and picturesque style as a writer, he added 
a knowledge of the Arabic language and literature 
equal to that of any native scholar ; he spoke the 
language as well as his mother tongue ; his features 
were suflSciently Oriental to disarm suspicion, and 
years of residence in the East had rendered him en- 
tirely familiar with the habits of the people and 
even with all those minor forms of etiquette which 
are so rarely acquired by a stranger. Ilis narrative, 
therefore, is as admirable and satisfactory in its char- 
acter as tlie fields he traversed were new and fasci- 
nating. It throws, indeed, so much indirect light 
upon the experiences of all his predecessors, and is so 



84 



TRAVELS IN ARABIA 



much richer in its illustrations of Arab life and char- 
acter that no brief summary of its contents can do 
justice to its importance. 

Of the first stage of the journey, from Gaza on the 
Mediterranean to the little town of Ma'an, which lies 




William Gifford Palgrave. 

on the route of the caravans from Damascus to 
Mecca, a short distance to the northeast of Petra, and 
thus nearly on the boundary between the country of 
Moab and Edom, Palgrave gives us no account. Yet, 
in spite of the comparatively brief distance traversed, 
it must have been both laborious and dangerous. 
His narrative commences as follows, at the moment 
of his departure from Ma'an : 



PALGEAVE'S TRAVELS 85 

" Once for all let us attempt to acquire a fairly 
correct and comprehensive knowledge of the Arabian 
Peninsula. With its coasts we are already in great 
measure acquainted ; several of its maritime prov- 
inces have been, if not thoroughly, at least suffi- 
ciently, explored ; Yemen and Hedjaz, Mecca and 
Medina, are no longer mysteries to us, nor are we 
wholly without information on the districts of Ha- 
draraaut and Oman. But of the interior of the vast 
region, of its plains and mountains, its tribes and 
cities, of its governments and institutions, of its in- 
habitants, their ways and customs, of their social 
condition, how far advanced in civilization or sunk in 
barbarism, what do we as yet really know, save from 
accounts necessarily wanting in fulness and precision ? 
It is time to fill up this blank in the map of Asia, 
and this, at whatever risks, we will now endeavor ; 
either the land befoi'e us shall be our tomb,. or we 
will traverse it in its fullest breadth, and know what 
it contains from shore to shore. Vestigia nulla re- 
trorsumr 

" Such were my thoughts, and such, more or less, 
I should suppose, those of my companion, when we 
found oui'selves at fall of night without the eastern 
gate of Ma'an, while the Arabs, our guides and fel- 
low-travellers, filled their water-skins from a gushing 
source hard by the town walls, and adjusted the sad- 
dles and the burdens of their camels, in preparation 
for the long journey that lay before us and them. 
It was the evening of June 16, 1862 ; the largest 
stars were already visible in the deep blue depths of 
a cloudless sky, while the crescent moon, high to the 



86 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

west, shone as she shines in those heavens, and prom- 
ised ns assistance for some hours of onr night march. 
We were soon mounted on our meagre long-necked 
beasts, ' as if,' according to the expression of an 
Arab poet, ' we and our men were at mast-heads,' 
and now we set our faces to the east. Behind us lay, 
in a mass of dark outline, the walls and castle of 
Ma'an, its houses and gardens, and farther back in 
the distance the high and barren range of the 
Sheraa' Mountains, merging into the coast chain of 
llejaz. Before and around us extended a wide and 
level plain, blackened over with countless pebbles of 
basalt and flint, except where the moonbeams gleamed 
white on little intervening patches of clear sand, or 
on yellowish streaks of withered grass, the scanty 
product of the winter rains, and dried now into lla3^ 
Over all a deep silence, which even our Arab compan- 
ions seemed fearful of breaking ; when they spoke it 
was in a half whisper and in a few words, while the 
noiseless tread of our camels sped stealthily but rapid- 
ly through the gloom without disturbing its stillness. 
" Some precaution was not indeed wholly out of 
place, for that stage of the journey on which we were 
now entering was anything but safe. We were bound 
for the Djowf, the nearest inhabited district of Cen- 
tral Arabia, its outlying station, in fact. Kow the in- 
tervening tract offered for the most part the double 
danger of robbers and of thirst, of marauding bands 
and of the summer season. The distance itself to be 
traversed was near two hundred miles in a straight 
line, and unavoidable circumstances were likely to 
render it much longer." 



PALOBAVE'S TRAVELS 87 

Palgrave's compaiiion was a native Syrian, named 
Barakat — a man on whom he could fully I'ely. 
Hardy, young, and enterprising, he belonged to a lo- 
cality whose inhabitants are accnstomed to danger. 
But the Bedouins who furnished the camels, and 
acted as guides, were of another class. They were 
three in number — Salim, their leader, a member of a 
powerful family of the Howeytat tribe, but outlawed 
for pillage and murder, and two men. Alee and 
Djordee, utter barbarians in appearance no less than 
in character. Even Salim advised the travellers to 
avoid all familiarities with the latter. 

" Myself and my companion," says Palgrave, " M-ere 
dressed like ordinary class travellers of inner Syria, 
an equipment in which we had already made our way 
from Gaza on the sea-coast to Ma'an without much 
remark or nnseasonable questioning from those whom 
we fell in with, while we traversed a country so often 
described already by Pococke, Laborde, and down- 
ward, under the name of Arabia Petra, that it would 
be superfluous for me to enter into any new account 
of it in the present work. Our dress, then, consisted 
pai'tly of a long stout blouse of Egyptian hemp, under 
which, nnlike our Bedouin fellow-travellers, we in- 
dulged in the luxury of the loose cotton drawers com- 
mon in the East, while our colored head-kerchiefs, 
though simple enough, were girt by 'akkals or head- 
bands of some pretension to elegance ; the loose 
red-leather boots of the country completed our toi- 
let. 

" But in the large travelling-sacks at our camels' 
sides were contained suits of a more elegant appear- 



8S TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

ance, carefully concealed from Bedouin gaze, but 
destined for appearance when we should reach better 
inhabited and more civilized districts. This i-eserve 
toilet numbered articles like the following : colored 
overdresses, the Sjiian combaz, handkerchiefs whose 
silk stripes relieved the plebeian cotton, and girdles 
of good material and tasteful coloring ; such clothes 
being absolutely requisite to maintain our assumed 
character. Mine w^as that of a native travelling doc- 
tor, a quack if you will ; and accordingly a tolerable 
dress was indispensable for the credit of my medical 
practice. My comrade, who in a general way passed 
for my brother-in-law, appeared sometimes as a retail 
merchant, such as not unfrequently visit these coun- 
tries, and sometimes as pupil or associate in my as- 
sumed profession. 

" Our pharraacopceia consisted of a few but well 
selected and efficacious drugs, inclosed in small tight- 
fitting tin boxes, stowed away for the present in the 
ample recesses of our travelling bags ; about fifty of 
these little cases contained the wherewithal to kill or 
cure half the sick men of Arabia. Medicines of a 
liquid form had been as much as possible omitted, 
not only from the difficulty of insuring them a safe 
transport amid so rough a mode of journeying, but 
also on account of the rapid evaporation unavoidable 
in this dry and burning climate. In fact two or 
three small bottles wliose contents had seemed to me 
of absolute necessity, soon retained nothing save their 
labels to indicate what they had held, in spite of air- 
tight stoppers and double covei-ings. I record this, 
because the hint may be useful to anyone who should 



PALOBAVE'S TRAVELS 89 

be inclined to embark in similar guise on the same 
adventures. 

" Some other objects requisite in medical practice, 
two or three European books for my own private use, 
and kept carefully secret from Arab curiosity, with a 
couple of Esculapian treatises in good Arabic, in- 
tended for professional ostentation, completed this 
part of our fitting-out. But besides these, an ample 
provision of cloth handkerchiefs, glass necklaces, 
pipe-bowls, and the like, for sale in whatever locali- 
ties might not offer sutficient facility for the healing 
art, filled up our saddle-bags wellnigh to bursting. 
Last, but not least, two large sacks of coffee, the 
sheet-anchor and main hope of our commerce, formed 
alone a sufiicient load for a vigorous camel." 

The first days of travel were a monotony of heat 
and desolation. The deceptive lakes of the mirage 
covered the tawny plain, and every dark basaltic 
block, lying here and there at random, was magni- 
fied into a mountain in the heated atmosphere. 
" Dreary land of death, in which even the face of an 
enemy were almost a relief amid such utter solitude. 
But for five whole days the little dried-up lizard of 
the plain that looks as if he had never a drop of 
moisture in his ugly body, and the jerboa, or field- 
rat of Arabia, were the only living creatures to con- 
sole our view. 

" It was a march during which we might have 
almost repented of our enterprise, had such a sen- 
timent been any longer possible or availing. Day 
after day found us urging our camels to their utmost 
pace for fifteen or sixteen hours together out of the 

7 



90 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

twenty-four, under a wellnigh vertical snn, which 
the Ethiopians of Herodotus might reasonably be ex- 
cused for cursing, with nothing either in the land- 
scape around or in the companions of our way to re- 
lieve for a moment the eye or the mind. Then an 
insufficient halt for rest or sleep, at most of two or 
three hours, soon interrupted by the oft-repeated 
admonition, ' if we linger here we all die of thirst,' 
sounding in our ears ; and then to remount our jaded 
beasts and push them on through the daik night, 
amid the constant probability of attack and plunder 
from roving marauders. For myself, I was, to mend 
matters, under the depressing influence of a tertian 
fever contracted at Ma'an, and what between weari- 
ness and low spirits, began to imagine seriously that 
no waters remained before us except the waters of 
death for us and of oblivion for our friends. The 
days wore hy like a delirious dream, till we were 
often almost unconscious of the ground we travelled 
over and the journey on which we were engaged. 
One only herb appeared at our feet to give some ap- 
pearance of variety and life ; it was the bitter and 
poisonous colocynth of the desert. 

" Our order of road was this : Long before dawn 
we were on our way, and paced it till the sun, having 
attained about half-way between the horizon and the 
zenith, assigned the moment of alighting for our 
morning meal. This our Bedouins always took good 
care should be in some hollow or low ground, for 
concealment's sake ; in every other respect we had 
ample liberty of choice, for one patch of black peb- 
bles with a little sand and withered grass between 



PALGRAVE'8 TRAVELS 91 

was just like anotlier ; shade or slielter, or anything 
like them, was wholly out of the question in such 
' nakedness of the land.' We then alighted, and my 
companion and myself would pile np the baggage 
into a sort of wall, to afford a half-screen from the 
scorching sun-rays, and here recline awhile. Next 
came the culinary preparations, in perfect accordance 
with our provisions, which were simple enough ; 
namely, a bag of coarse flour mixed with salt and a 
few dried dates ; there was no thii-d item on the bill 
of fare. We now took a few handfuls of flour, and 
one of the Bedouins kneaded it with his unwashed 
hands or dirty bit of leather, pouring over it a little 
of the dingy water contained in the skins, and then 
patted out this exquisite paste into a large round 
cake, about an inch thick and five or six inches 
across. Meanwhile another had lighted a fire of 
dry grass, colocynth roots, and dried camels' dung, 
till he liad prepared a bed of glowing embers ; among 
these the cake was now cast, and immediately cov- 
ered up with hot ashes, and so left for a few min- 
utes, then taken out, turned, and covered again, till 
at last, half - kneaded, half -raw, half - roasted, and 
burnt all round, it was taken out to be broken up 
between the hungry band, and eaten scalding hot, 
before it should cool into an indescribable leathery 
substance, capable of defying the keenest appetite. 
A draught of dingy water was its sole but suitable 
accompaniment. 

" The meal ended, we had again without loss of 
time to resume our way from mirage to mirage, till 
' slowly flaming over all, from heat to heat, the day 



92 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

decreased,' and about an hour before sunset we would 
stagger oif our camels as best we might, to prepare 
an evening feast of precisely the same description as 
that of tlie forenoon, or more often, for fear lest the 
smoke of our fii-e should give notice to some distant 
rover, to content ourselves with dry dates, and half 
an hour's rest on the sand. At last our dates, like 
^sop's bread-sack, or that of Beyhas, his Arab proto- 
type, came to an end ; and then our supper was a 
soldier's one ; what that is my military friends will 
know ; but, grit and pebbles excepted, there was no 
bed in our case. After which, to remount, and 
travel on by moon or starlight, till a little before 
midnight we would lie down for just enough sleep to 
tantalize, not I'efresh. 

" It was now the 22d of June, and the fifth day 
since our departure from the wells of Wokba. The 
water in the skins had little more to offer to our 
thirst than muddy dregs, and as yet no sign ap- 
peared of a fresh supply. At last about noon we 
drew near some hillocks of loose gravel and sand- 
stone a little on our right ; our Bedouins convei'sed 
together awhile, and then turned their course and 
ours in that direction. ' Hold fast on your camels, 
for they are going to be startled and jump about,* 
said Salim to us. Why the camels should be startled 
I could not understand ; when, on crossing the 
mounds just mentioned, we suddenly came on five 
or six black tents, of the very poorest description, 
pitched near some wells excavated in the gravelly 
hollow below. The reason of Salim's precautionary 
hint now became evident, for our silly beasts started 



PALOBAVE'8 TRAVELS 93 

at first sight of the tents, as tliongh they had never 
seen the like before, and tlien scampered about, 
bounding friskily here and there, till what between 
their jolting (for a camel's run much resembles that 
of a cow) and our own laughing, we could hardly 
keep on their backs. However, thirst soon prevailed 
over timidity, and they left off their pranks to ap- 
proach the well's edge and sniff at the water be- 
low." 

The inhabitants of the tents showed the ordinary 
curiosity, but were not unfriendly, and the little 
caravan rested there for the remainder of the day. 
A further journey of two days over a region of sand- 
hills, with an occasional well, still intervened before 
they could reach Wady Sirhan — a long valley run- 
ning directly to the populated region of the Djowf. 
While passing over this intermediate region an inci- 
dent occurred which had wellnigh put a premature 
end to the travels and tlie travellers together. " My 
readers, no less than myself," says Palgrave, " must 
have heard or read many a story of the simoom, or 
deadly wind of the desert, but for me I had never yet 
met it in full force ; and its modified form, or she- 
look, to use the Arab phrase, that is, the sirocco of 
the Syrian waste, though disagreeable enough, can 
liardly ever be termed dangerous. Hence I had 
been almost inclined to set down the tales told of 
the strange phenomena and fatal effects of this ' poi- 
soned gale ' in the same category with the moving 
pillars of sand, recorded in many works of higher 
historical pretensions than ' Thalaba.' At those per- 
ambulatory colunms and sand- smothered caravans the 



94 TRAVELS IN ABABIA 

Bedouins, whenever I interrogated them on the sub- 
ject, laughed outright, and declared that bejond an 
occasional dust-storm, similar to those which anyone 
who has passed a summer in Scinde can hardly fail 
to have experienced, nothing of the romantic kind 
just alluded to occurred in Arabia. But when ques- 
tioned about the simoom, they always treated it as a 
much more serious matter, and such in real earnest 
we now found it. 

" It was about noon, the noon of a summer solstice 
in the unclouded Arabian sky over a scorched desert, 
when abrupt and burning gusts of wind began to 
blow by fits from the south, while the oppressiveness 
of the air increased every moment, till my companion 
and myself mutually asked each other what this could 
mean, and what was to be its result. We turned to 
inquire of Salim, but he had already wrapped up his 
face in his mantle, and bowed down and crouching 
on the neck of his camel, replied not a word. His 
comrades, the two Sherarat Bedouins, had adopted a 
similar position, and were equally silent. At last, 
after repeated interrogations, Salim, instead of reply- 
ing directly to our questioning, pointed to a small 
black tent, providentially at no great distance in 
front, and said: 'Try to reach that ^' if we can get 
there we are saved.' He added : ' Take care that 
your camels do not stop and lie down;' and then, 
giving his own several vigorous blows, relapsed into 
muffled silence. 

" We looked anxiously toward the tent ; it was yet 
a hundred yards off, or more. Meanwhile the gusts 
grew hotter and more violent, and it was only by re- 



PALGHAVB'S TRAVErs 95 

peated efforts that we could urge our beasts forward. 
The horizon rapidly darkened to a deep violet hue, 
and seemed to draw in like a curtain on every side, 
while at the same time a stifling blast, as though 
from some enormous oven opening right on our path, 
blew steadily under the gloom ; our camels, too, be- 
gan, in spite of all we could do, to turn round and 
round and bend their knees, preparing to lie down. 
The simoom was fairly upon us. 

" Of course we liad followed our Arabs' example 
by muffling our faces, and now with blows and kicks 
we forced the staggering animals onward to the only 
asylum within reach. So dark was the atmosphere, 
and so burning the heat, that it seemed that hell had 
risen from the earth, or descended from above. But 
we were yet in time, and .at the moment when the 
worst of the concentrated poison-blast was coming 
around, we were already prostrate, one and all, with- 
in the tent, with our heads well wrapped up, almost 
suffocated, indeed, but safe ; while our camels lay 
without like dead, their long necks stretched out on 
the sand, awaiting the passing of the gale. 

" On our first arrival the tent contained a solitary 
Bedouin woman, whose husband was away with his 
camels in the Wady Sirhan. When she saw five 
handsome men like us rush thus suddenly into her 
dwelling without a word of leave or salutation, she 
very properly set up a scream to the tune of the four 
crown pleas — murder, arson, robbery, and I know not 
what else. Salim hastened to reassure her by calling 
out ' friends,' and without more words threw himself 
flat on the ground. All followed his example in silence. 



96 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" We remained thus for about ten minutes, during 
which a still heat like that of red-hot iron slowly 
passing over us was alone to be felt. Then the tent 
walls began again to flap in the returning gusts, and 
announced that the worst of the simoom had gone by. 
"We got up, half dead with exhaustion, and unmuffled 
our faces. My comrades appeared more like corpses 
than living men, and so, I suppose, did I. However, 
I could not forbear, in spite of warnings, to step out 
and look at the camels ; they were still lying flat as 
though they had been shot. The air was yet dark- 
ish, but before long it brightened up to its usual 
dazzling clearness. During the whole time that the 
simoom lasted, the atmosphere was entii-ely free from 
sand or dust, so that I hardly know how to account 
for its singular obscurit}'." 

" Late in the evening we continued our way, and 
next day early entered Wady Sirhan, where the char- 
acter of our journey undei-went a considerable modi- 
fication ; for the northerly Arabian desert, which we 
are now traversing, offers, in spite of all its dreari- 
ness, some spots of comparatively better cast, where 
water is less scanty and vegetation less niggard. 
These spots are the favorite resorts of Bedouins, and 
serve, too, to direct the ordinary routes of whatever 
travellers, trade-led or from other motives, may vent- 
ure on this wilderness. These oases, if indeed they 
deserve the name, are formed by a slight depression 
in the surrounding desert surface, and take at times 
the form of a long valley, or of an oblong patch, 
where rock and pebble give place to a light soil more 
or less intermixed with sand, and concealing under 



PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS 97 

its surface a tolerable supply of moisture at no great 
distance below ground. Here, in consequence, bushes 
and herbs spring up, and grass, if not green all the 
year round, is at least of somewhat longer duration 
than elsewhere ; certain fruit-bearing plants, of a 
nature to suffice for meagre Bedouin existence, grow 
here spontaneously ; in a word, man and beast find 
not exactly comfortable accommodation, but the ab- 
solutely needful supply. Such a spot is Wady Sir- 
han, literally, ' the Yalley of the Wolf.' " 

They entered Wady Sirlian on June 21st. "Pass- 
ing tent after tent, and leaving behind us many a 
tattered Bedouin and grazing camel, Salim at last in- 
dicated to us a group of habitations, two or three of 
which seemed of somewhat more ample dimensions 
than the rest, and informed us that our supper that 
night (for the afternoon was already on the decline) 
would be at the cost of these dwellings. 'Ajaweed,' 
i.e., ' generous fellow,' he subjoined, to encourage us 
by the prospect of a handsome reception. Of course 
we could only defer to his better judgment, and in a 
few minutes were alongside of the black goats' hair 
covei'ings where lodged our intended hosts. 

" The chief or chieflet, for such he was, came out, 
and interchanged a few words of masonic laconism 
with Salim. The latter then came up to us where 
we remained halted in expectation, led onr camels to 
a little distance from the tents, made them kneel 
down, helped us to disburden them, and while we 
installed ourselves on a sandy slope opposite to the 
abodes of the tribe, recommended us to keep a sharp 
lookout after our baggage, since there might be pick- 



98 TRAVELS m ARABIA 

ers and stealers among our hosts, for all ' Ajaweed ' 
as they were. Disagreeable news ! for 'Ajaweed ' in 
an Arab mouth corresponds the nearest possible to 
our English 'gentlemen.' Now, if the gentlemen 
were thieves, what must the blackguards be ? "We 
put a good face on it, and then seated ourselves in 
dignified gravity on the sand awaiting the further 
results of our guide's negotiations. 

" For some time we remained undisturbed, though 
not unnoticed ; a group of Arabs had collected round 
our companions at the tent door, and were engaged 
in getting from them all possible information, espe- 
cially about us and our baggage, which last was an 
object of much curiositj', not to say cupidity. I^ext 
came our turn. The chief, his family (women ex- 
cepted), his intimate followers, and some twenty 
others, young and old, boys and men, came up, and, 
after a brief salutation, Bedouin wise seated them- 
selves in a semicircle before us. Every man held a 
short crooked stick for camel-driving in his hand, to 
gesticulate with when speaking, or to play with in 
the intervals of conversation, wliile the younger 
members of society, less prompt in discourse, po- 
litely employed their leisure in staring at us, or in 
picking up dried pellets of dirt from the sand and 
tossing them about." 

"'What are you? what is your business?' so 
runs the ordinary and unprefaced opening of the dis- 
course. To which we answer, ' Physicians from Da- 
mascus, and our business is whatsoever God may 
put in our way.' The next question will be about 
the baggage ; someone pokes it with a stick, to 



PALORAVE'S TRAVELS 99 

draw attention to it, and says, ' What is this ? have 
you any little object to sell us? ' 

" We fight shy of selling ; to open out our wares 
and chattels in full air, on the sand, and amid a 
crowd whose appearance and circumstances offer but 
a poor guarantee for the exact observance of the 
eighth commandment, would be hardly prudent or 
worth our while. After several fruitless trials they 
desist from their request. Another, who is troubled 
by some bodily infirmity, for which all the united 
faculties of London and Paris might prescribe in 
vain — a withered hand, for instance, or stone-blind of 
an eye — asks for medicine, which no sooner applied 
shall, in his expectation, suddenly restore him to per- 
fect health and corporal integrity. But I had been 
already forewarned that to doctor a Bedouin, even 
under the most favorable circumstances, or a camel, 
is pretty much the same thing, and with about an 
equal chance of success or advantage. I politely de- 
cline. He insists ; I turn him off with a joke. 

" ' So you laugh at us, O you inhabitants of towns. 
We are Bedouins, we do not know your customs,' 
replies he, in a whining tone ; while the boys grin 
unconscionably at the discomfiture of their tribesman. 

" ' Ya woleyd,' or young fellow (for so they style 
every human male from eight to eighty without dis- 
tinction), ' will you not fill my pipe ? ' says one, who 
has observed that mine was not idle, and who, though 
well provided with a good stock of dry tobacco tied 
up in a rag at his greasy waist-belt, thinks the mo- 
ment a fair opportunity for a little begging, since 
neither medicine nor merchandise is to be had. 



100 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" But Salim, seated amid the circle, malves me a 
sign not to comply. Accordingly, I evade the de- 
mand. However, my petitioner goes on begging, 
and is imitated by two or three others, each of whom 
tln-usts forward (a true Irish hint) a bit of mari-ow- 
bone with a hole drilled in one side to act for a pipe, 
or a porons stone, not uncommon throughout the 
desert, clumsily fashioned into a smoking apparatus, 
a sort of primitive meerschaum. 

" As they grow rude, I pretend to become angry, 
thus to cut the matter short. ' We are your guests, 

3'ou Bedouins ; are you not ashamed to beg of us? ' 
' JS^ever mind, excuse us ; those are ignorant fellows, 
ill-bred clowns,' etc., interposes one close by the 
chief's side ; and whose dress is in somewhat better 
condition than that of the other half and three- 
quarter naked individuals who complete the assem- 
bly. 

" ' Will you not people the pipe for your little 
brother ? ' subjoins the chief himself, producing an 
empty one with a modest air. Bedouin language, 
like that of most Orientals, abounds with not un- 
graceful imagery, and accordingly, 'people' heie 
means 'fill.' Salim gives me a wink of compliance. 

1 take out a handful of tobacco and put it on his 
long shirt-sleeve, which he knots over it, and looks 
uncommonl}' well pleased. At any rate they are 
easily satisfied, these Bedouins. 

" The night air in these wilds is life and health it- 
self. We sleep soundly, unharassed by the antici- 
pation of an early summons to march next morning, 
for both men and beasts have alike need of a full 



PALOBAVE'S TRAVELS 101 

day's repose. When the sun lias risen we are invited 
to enter the chief's tent and to bring our baggage 
under its slielter. A main object of our entertainer, 
in proposing this move, is to try whetlior he cannot 
render our visit some way profitable to himself, by 
present or purchase. Whatever politeness he can 
muster is accordingly brought into play, and a large 
bowl of fresh camel's milk, an excellent beverage, 
now appears on the stage. I leave to chemical anal- 
ysis to decide why this milk will not furnish butter, 
for such is the fact, and content myself with bearing 
witness to its very nutritious and agreeable quali- 
ties. 

" The day passes on. About noon our host natu- 
rally enough supposes us hungry, and accordingly a 
new dish is brought in : it looks much like a bowl 
full of coarse red paste, or bran mixed with ochre. 
This is samh, a main article of subsistence to the 
Bedouins of jSTorthern Arabia. Throughout this part 
of the desert grows a small herbaceous and tufted 
plant, with juicy stalks and a little ovate yellow- 
tinted leaf ; the flowers are of a bi-ighter yellow, with 
many stamens and pistils. When the blossoms fall 
off there remains in place of each a four-leaved cap- 
sule about the size of an ordinary pea, and this, when 
ripe, opens to show a mass of minute reddish seeds, 
resembling grit in feel and appearance, but farina- 
ceous in substance. The ripening season is in July, 
w'hen old and young, men and women, all are out to 
collect the unsown and untoiled-for harvest, 

" On the 27tli of the month we passed with some 
difficulty a series of abrupt sand-hills that close in 



102 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the direct course of Wady Sirhan. Here, for the 
first time, we saw the ghada, a shrub ahiiost charac- 
teristic, from its verj frequency, of the Arabian Pen- 
insula, and often alluded to by its poets. It is of 
the genus Euj)horhia, with a woody stem, often five 
or six feet in height, and innumerable round green 
twigs, very slender and flexible, forming a large 
feathery tuft, not ungraceful to the eye, while it af- 
fords some kind of shelter to the traveller and food 
to his camels. These last are passionatelj' fond of 
ghada, and will continually turn right out of their 
way, in spite of blows and kicks, to crop a mouthful 
of it, and then swing back their long necks into the 
former direction, ready to repeat the same manoeuvre 
at the next bush, as though they had never received 
a beating for their past voracity. 

" I have, while in England, heard and read more 
than once of the ' docile camel.' If ' docile ' means 
stupid, w^ell and good ; in such a case the camel is 
the very model of docilit3\ But if the epithet is in- 
tended to designate an animal that takes an interest 
in its rider so far as a beast can, that in some way 
understands his intentions or shares them in a sub- 
ordinate fashion, that obeys from a sort of submissive 
or half fellow-feeling with his master, like the horse 
and elephant, then I say that the camel is by no 
means docile, very much the contraiy ; he takes no 
heed of his rider, pays no attention whether he be on 
his back or not, walks straight on when once set a-go- 
ing, merely because he is too stupid to turn aside ; 
and then, should some tempting thorn or green branch 
allure him out of the path, continues to walk on in 



PALORAVE'S TRAVELS 103 

this new direction siinplj because he is too dnll to 
turn back into the right road. His only care is to 
cross as much pasture as lie conveniently can while 
pacing mechanically onward ; and for effecting this, 
his long, flexible neck sets him at great advantage, 
and a hard blow or a downright kick alone lias any 
influence on him whether to direct or impel. He 
will never attempt to throw you off his back, such a 
trick being far beyond his limited comprehension ; 
but if you fall off, he will never dream of stopping 
for you, and walks on just the same, grazing while 
he goes, without knowing or caring an atom what 
has become of you. If turned loose, it is a thousand 
to one that he will never find his way back to his ac- 
customed home or pasture, and the first comer "who 
picks him up will have no particular shyness to get 
over ; Jack or Tom is all the same to him, and the 
loss of his old master, and of his own kith and kin, 
gives him no regret, and occasions no endeavor to find 
them again." 

On coming in sight of the mountains of Djowf 
the travellers were obliged to halt for two days at an 
encampment of the Sherarat Arabs, because Salim 
could not enter the Djowf with them in person, on 
account of a nmrder which he had committed there. 
He was therefore obliged to procure them another 
guide capable of conducting them safely the remain- 
der of the journey. After much search and discus- 
sion, Salim ended by finding a good-natured, but 
somewhat timid, individual, who undertook their 
guidance to the Djowf. 

Journeying one whole day and night over an open 



104 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

plateau, where tliey saw a large troop of ostriches, 
they mounted again on the 30th, by tiie light of the 
morning star, anxious to enter the Djowf befoi-e the 
intense heat of noon should come on ; " but we had 
yet a long way to go, and our ti-ack followed endless 
windings among low hills and stony ledges, without 
any symptom of approach to cultivated regions. At 
last the slopes grew greener, and a small knot of 
houses, with traces of tillage close by, appeared. It 
was the little village of Djoon, the most westerly ap- 
pendage of Djowf itself. I counted between twenty 
and thirty houses. We next entered a long and nar- 
row pass, whose precipitous banks shut in the view 
on either side. Suddenly several horsemen appeared 
on the opposite cliff, and one of them, a handsome 
youth, with long, curling hair, well armed and well 
mounted (we shall make his more special acquaint- 
ance in the next chapter), called out to our guide to 
halt, and answer in his own behalf and ours. This 
Suleyman did, not without those marks of timidity 
in his voice and gesture which a Bedouin seldom 
fails to show on his approach to a town, for, when 
once in it, he is apt to sneak about much like a dog 
who has just received a beating for theft. On his 
answer, delivered in a most submissive tone, the 
horsemen held a brief consultation, and we then saw 
two of them turn their horses' heads and gallop off 
in the direction of the Djowf, while our original in- 
terlocutor called out to Suleyman, ' All right, go on, 
and fear nothing,' and then disappeared after the 
rest of the band behind the verge of the upland. 
" We had yet to drag on for an hour of tedious 




AN ARAB CHIEF. 



PALQBAVE'8 TRAVELS 105 

march ; my camel fairly broke down, and fell again 
and again ; his bad example was followed by the 
coffee-laden beast ; the heat was terrible in these 
gorges, and noon was approaching. At last we 
cleared the pass, but found the onward prospect still 
shut out by an intervening mass of rocks. The water 
in our skins was spent, and we had eaten nothing 
that morning. When shall we get in sight of the 
Djowf ? or has it flown away from before us ? While 
thus wearily laboring on our way we turned a huge 
pile of crags, and a new and beautiful scene burst 
upon our view. 

" A broad, deep valley, descending ledge after 
ledge till its innermost depths are hidden from sight 
amid far-reaching shelves of reddish rock, below 
everywhere studded with tufts of pahn-groves and 
clustering fruit-trees, in dark-green patches, down to 
the furthest end of its windings ; a large brown mass 
of irregular masonry crowning a central hill ; beyond, 
a tall and solitary tower overlooking the opposite 
bank of the hollow, and further down small round 
turrets and flat house-tops, half bui'ied amid the gar- 
den foliage, the whole plunged in a perpendicular 
flood of light and heat ; such was the first aspect of 
the Djowf as we now approached it from the west. 
It was a lovely scene, and seemed yet more so to our 
eyes, weary of the long desolation through which we 
had, with hardly an exception, journeyed day after 
day, since our last farewell glimpse of Gaza and Pal- 
estine, up to the first entrance on inhabited Arabia. 
' Like the Paradise of eternity, none can enter it till 
after having previously passed over hell-bridge,' says 



106 TRAVELS IN ABABIA 

an Arab poet, describing some similar local it}' in Al- 
gerian lands. 

" Reanimated by the view, we pushed on onr 
jaded beasts, and were already descending the first 
craggy slope of the valley when two horsemen, well 
dressed and fully armed after the fashion of these 
parts, came np toward ns from the town, and at once 
saluted us with a loud and hearty ' Marhaba,' or 
' welcome;' and without further pi'eface they added, 
' Alight and eat,' giving themselves the example of 
the former by descending briskly from their light- 
limbed horses and untying a large leather bag full 
of excellent dates and a water-skin filled from the 
running spring ; then, spreading out these most op- 
portune refreshments on the rock, and adding, ' we 
were sure that you must be hungry and thirsty, so we 
have come ready provided,' they invited us once 
more to sit down and begin." 



CHAPTEE IX. 

PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS— RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 

THE elder of the two cavaliers who welcomed the 
travellers proved to be Ghafil-el-Haboob, the 
chief of the most important family of the Djowf. 
Ghafil, and also his companion, Dafee, invited the 
travellers to be his guests, and the former, it after- 
ward appeared, had intended that they shonld reside 
in his house, hoping to make some profit from the 
merchandise which they might have brought. They 
felt bound, at least, to accompany him to his house 
and partake of coffee, before going elsewhere. Pal- 
grave thus describes the manner of their reception : 

"The k'havvah was a large, oblong hall, about 
twenty feet in height, fifty in length, and sixteen, or 
thereabouts, in breadth ; the walls were colored in a 
rudely decorative manner, with brown and white 
wash, and sunk here and there into small triangular 
recesses, destined to the reception of books — though 
of these Ghafil at least had no over-abundance — 
lamps, and other such like objects. The roof of tim- 
ber, and flat ; the floor was strewed with fine clean 
sand, and garnished all round alongside of the walls 
with long strips of carpet, upon which cushions, cov- 
ered with faded silk, were disposed at suitable inter- 
vals. 



108 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" We enter. On passing the threshold it is proper 
to say, ' BisTnillah^ i.e., ' in the name of God ; ' not 
to do so would be looked on as a bad angurj^, alike 
for him who enters and for those within. The vis- 
itor next advances in silence, till, on coming about 
half-way across the room, he gives to all present, but 
looking specially at the master of the house, the cus- 
tomary ' Es-salamu' aleyhuon,'' or ' Peace be with 
you,' literally, ' on you.' All this wdiile everyone 
else in the room has kept his place, motionless, and 
without saying a word. But on receiving the sa- 
laam of etiquette, the master of the house rises, and 
if a strict Wahabee, or at any rate desirous of seem- 
ing such, replies with the full-length ti-aditionary 
formula : ' And with (or, on) you be peace, and the 
mercy of God, and his blessings.' But should he 
happen to be of anti-Wahabee tendencies, the odds 
are that he will say ' Marhaba,' or ' Ahlan w'sahlan,' 
i.e., ' welcome,' or ' worthy and pleasurable,' or the 
like ; for of such phrases there is an infinite but ele- 
gant variety. All present follow the example thus 
given by rising and saluting. The guest then goes 
up to the master of the house, who has also made a 
step or two forward, and places his open hand in the 
palm of his host's, but without grasping or shaking, 
which would liardly pass as decorous, and, at the 
same time each repeats once more his greeting, fol- 
lowed by the set phrases of polite inquiry, ' How are 
you ? ' ' How goes the world with you ? ' and so 
forth, all in a tone of great interest, and to be gone 
over three or four times, till one or other has the 
discretion to say ' El hamdu I'illah,' ' Praise be to 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 109 

God,' or, in equivalent value, ' all right,' and this is 
a signal for a seasonable diversion to the ceremonious 
interrogatory. 

" Meantime we have become engaged in active 
conversation with our host and his friends. But our 
Sherarat guide, Sulejman, like a true Bedouin, feels 
too awkward when among townsfolk to venture on 
the upper places, though repeatedly invited, and ac- 
cordingly has squatted down on tlie sand near the 
entrance. Many of Ghafil's relations are present; 
their silver-decorated swords proclaim the importance 
of the family. Others, too, have come to receive us, 
for our arrival, announced beforehand by those we 
had met at the entrance pass, is a sort of event in 
the town ; the dress of some betokens poverty, others 
are better clad, but all have a very polite and decor- 
ous manner. Many a question is asked about our 
native land and town, that is to say, Syria and Da- 
mascus, conformably to the disguise already adopted, 
and which it w^as highly important to keep well up ; 
then follow inquiries regarding our journey, our busi- 
ness, what we have brought with us, about our medi- 
cines, our goods and wai'es, etc. From the very 
first it is easy for us to perceive that patients and 
purchasers are likely to abound. Yery few travel- 
ling merchants, if any, visit the Djowf at this time 
of year, for one must be mad, or next door to it, to 
rush into the vast desert around during the heats of 
June and July ; I for one have certainly no intention 
of doing it again. Hence we had small danger of 
competitors, and found the market almost at our ab- 
solute disposal. 



110 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" But before a quarter of an hour has passed, and 
while blacky is still roasting or pounding his coffee, 
a tall, thin lad, Ghafil's eldest son, appears, charged 
with a large circular dish, grass-platted like the rest, 
and throws it with a graceful jerk on the sandy floor 
close before us. He then produces a large wooden 
bowlful of dates, bearing in the midst of the heap 
a cupful of melted butter ; all this he places on the 
circular mat, and says, ^ Semmoo^ litei'ally, 'pro- 
nounce the I^ame,' of God, understood ; this means 
' set to work at it.' Hereon the master of the house 
quits his place by the fireside and seats himself on 
the sand opposite to us ; we draw nearer to the dish, 
and four or five others, after some respectful coy- 
ness, join the circle. Everyone then picks out a 
date or two from the juicy, half-amalgamated mass, 
dips them into the butter, and thus goes on eating 
till he has had enough, when he rises and washes his 
hands." 

" I will take the opportunity of leading my readers 
over the whole of the Djowf, as a general view will 
help better to understand what follows in the narra- 
tive, besides offering much that will be in part new, I 
should fancy, to the greater number. 

" This province is a sort of oasis, a large oval de- 
pression of sixty or seventy miles long, by ten or 
twelve broad, lying between the northern desert that 
separates it from Syria and the Euphrates, and the 
southern Nefood, or sandy waste, and interposed 
between it and the nearest mountains of the central 
Arabian plateau. However, from its comparative 
proximity to the latter, no less than from the charac- 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 111 

ter of its climate and productions, it belongs hardly 
so mncli to I*^orthern as to Central Arabia, of which 
it is a kind of porch or vestibule. If an equilateral 
triangle were to be drawn, having its base from Da- 
mascus to Bagdad, the vertex would find itself pretty 
exactly as the Djowf, which is thus at a nearly equal 
distance, southeast and southwest, from the two lo- 
calities just mentioned, while the same cross-line, if 
continued, will give at about the same intervals of 
space in the opposite direction, Medina on the one 
hand, and Zulphah, the great commercial door of 
Eastern Nedjed, on the other. Djebel Shomer lies 
almost due south, and much nearer than any other 
of the places above specified. Partly to this cen- 
tral position, and partly to its own excavated form, 
the province owes its appropriate name of Djowf, or 
' belly.' 

" The principal, or rather the only, town of the 
district, all the rest being mere hamlets, bears the 
name of the entire region. It is composed of eight 
villages, once distinct, but which have in process of 
time coalesced into one, and exchanged their sepa- 
rate existence and name for that of Soolc, or ' quar- 
ter,' of the common borough. Of these Sooks, the 
principal is that belonging to the family Ilaboob, 
and in which we were now lodged. It includes the 
central castle already mentioned, and luimbers about 
four hundred houses. The other quarters, some 
larger, others smaller, stretch up and down the val- 
ley, but are connected together by their extensive 
gardens. The entire length of the town thus formed, 
with the cultivation immediately annexed, is full four 



112 TRAVELS IN- ARABIA 

miles, but the average breadth does not exceed half 
a mile, and sometimes falls short of it. 

" The size of the domiciles varies with the condi- 
tion of their occupants, and the poor are contented 
with narrow lodgings, though always separate ; for 
I doubt if throughout the whole of Arabia two fami- 
lies, however needy, inhabit the same dwelling, 
Ghafil's abode, already described, may give a fair 
idea of the better kind ; in such we have an outer 
court, for unlading camels and the like, an inner 
court, a large reception-room, and several other 
smaller apartments, to which entrance is given by a 
private door, and where the family itself is lodged. 

" But another and a very characteristic feature 
of domestic architecture is the frequent addition, 
throughout the Djowf, of a round tower, from thirty 
to forty feet in height and twelve or more in breadth, 
with a narrow entrance and loop-holes above. This 
construction is sometimes contiguous to the dwelling- 
place, and sometimes isolated in a neighboring gar- 
den belonging to the same master. These towers 
once answered exactly the same purposes as the ' tor- 
ri,' well known to travellers in many cities of Italy, 
at Bologna, Siena, Rome, and elsewhere, and denoted 
a somewhat analogous state of society to what for- 
merly prevailed there. Hither, in time of the ever- 
recurring feuds between rival chiefs and factions, the 
leaders and their partisans used to retire for refuge 
and defence, and hence they would make their sal- 
lies to burn and destroy. These tow^ers, like all the 
modern edifices of the Djowf, are of unbaked bricks ; 
their great thickness and solidity of make, along 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 113 

with the extreme tenacity of the soil, joined to a 
very dry climate, renders the material a rival almost 
of stone-work iu strength and endurance. Since the 
final occupation of this region by the forces of Telal, 
all these towers have, without exception, been ren- 
dered unfit for defence, and some are even half-ru- 
ined. Here again the phenomena of Europe have 
repeated themselves in Arabia. 

"The houses are not unfrequentlj'^ isolated each 
from the other by their gardens and plantations ; and 
this is especially the case with the dwellings of chiefs 
and their families. What has just been said about 
the towers renders the reasons of this isolation suffi- 
ciently obvious. But the dwellings of the commoner 
sort are generally clustered together, though without 
symmetry or method. 

" The gardens of the Djowf are much celebrated 
in this part of the East, and justly so. They are of 
a productiveness and variety superior to those of 
Djebel Shomer or of Upper jSTedjed, and far beyond 
whatever the Hedjaz and its neighborhood can offer. 
Here, for the first time in our southward course, we 
found the date-palm a main object of cultivation ; 
and if its produce be inferior to that of the same 
tree in Nedjed and Hasa, it is far, very far, above 
whatever Egypt, Africa, or the valley of the Tigris 
from Bagdad to Bassora can show. However, the 
palm is by no means alone here. The apricot and 
the peach, the fig-tree and the vine, abound through- 
out these orchards, and their fruit surpasses in co- 
piousness and flavor that supplied by the gardens of 
Damascus or the hills of Syria and Palestine. In 



114 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the intervals between the trees or in the fields be- 
yond, corn, leguminous plants, gourds, melons, etc., 
etc., are widely cultivated, llei-e, too, for the last 
time, the traveller bound for the interior sees the ir- 
rigation indispensable to all growth and tillage in this 
droughty climate kept up by running streams of 
clear water, whereas in the Nedjed and its neighbor- 
hood it has to be laboriously procured from wells and 
cisterns. 

"Besides the Djowf itself, or capital, there exist 
several other villages belonging to the same homonj^- 
mous province, and all subject to the same central gov- 
ernor. Of these the largest is Sekahah ; it lies at 
about twelve miles distant to the northeast, and 
though inferior to the principal town in importance 
and fertility of soil, almost equals it in the number 
of its inhabitants. I should reckon the united popu- 
lation of these two localities — men, women, and chil- 
dren — at about thirty-three or thirty-four thousand 
souls. This calculation, like many others before us 
in the course of the work, rests partly on an approx- 
imate survey of the number of dwellings, partly on 
the military muster, and partly on what I heard on 
the subject from the natives themselves. A census 
is here unknown, and no register records birth, mar- 
riage, or death. Yet, by aid of the war list, which 
generally represents about one-tenth of the entire 
population, a fair though not absolute idea may be 
obtained on this point. 

"Lastly, around and at no great distance from 
these main centres, are several small villages or ham- 
lets, eight or ten in number, as I was told, and con- 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 115 

taining each of them from twenty to fifty or sixty 
houses. But I liad neither time nor opportunity to 
visit each separately. They cluster round lesser 
water springs, and offer in miniature features much 
resembling those of the capital. The entire popula- 
tion of the province cannot exceed forty or forty-two 
thousand, but it is a brave one, and very liberally 
provided with the physical endowments of which it 
has been acutely said that they are seldom despised 
save by those who do not themselves possess them. 
Tall, well-proportioned, of a tolerably fair complex- 
ion, set off by long curling locks of jet-black hair, 
with features for the most part regular and intelli- 
gent, and a dignified carriage, the Djowfites are 
eminently good specimens of what may be called the 
pure northern or Ishmaelitish Arab type, and in all 
these respects they yield the palm to the inhabitants 
of Djebel Sliomer alone. Their large-developed forms 
and open countenance contrast strongly with the some- 
what dwarfish stature and suspicious under-glance 
of the Bedouin. They are, besides, a very healthy 
people, and keep up their strength and activity even 
to an advanced age. It is no uncommon occurrence 
here, to see an old man of seventy set out full-armed 
among a band of youths ; though, by the way, such 
" green old age " is often to be met with also in the 
central province farther south, as I have had frequent 
opportunity of witnessing. The climate, too, is good 
and dry, and habits of out-door life contribute not a 
little to the maintenance of health and vigor. 

" In manners, as in locality, the worthies of Djowf 
occupy a sort of half-way position between Bedouins 



116 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

and the inhabitants of the cultivated districts. Tlins 
they partake largely in the nomad's aversion to me- 
chanical occupations, in his indiffei-ence to literary 
acquirements, in his aimless fickleness too, and even in 
his treacherous ways. I have said, in the preceding 
chapter, that while we were yet threading the narrow 
gorge near the first entrance of the valley, several 
liorsemen appeared on the upper margin of the pass, 
and one of them questioned our guide, and then, after 
a short consultation with his companions, called out 
to us to go on and fear nothing. Now, the name of 
this individual was Suliman-ebn-Dahir, a very ad- 
venturous and fairly intelligent young fellow, with 
whom next-door neighborhood and frequent inter- 
course rendered us intimate during our stay at the 
Djowf. One day, while we were engaged in friendly 
conversation, he said, half laughing, ' Do you know 
what we were consulting about while you were in the 
pass below on the morning of your arrival ? It was 
wliether we should make you a good reception, and 
thus procure ourselves the advantage of having you 
residents among us, or whether we should not do 
better to kill you all three, and take our gain from 
the booty to be found in your baggage.' I replied 
with equal coolness, ' It might have proved an awk- 
ward affair for yourself and your friends, since 
Hamood your governor could hardly have failed to 
get wind of the matter, and would have taken it 
out of you.' ' Pooh ! ' replied our friend, ' never a 
bit ; as if a present out of the plunder would not 
have tied Ilaniood's tongue.' ' Bedouins that you 
are,' said I, laughing. ' Of course we are,' answered 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 117 

Snliman, ' for siicli we all were till quite lately, and 
the present system is too recent to have much changed 
ns.' However, he admitted that they all had, on 
second thoughts, congratulated themselves on not 
having preferred bloodshed to hospitality, thongh 
perhaps the better resolution was rather owing to 
interested than to moral motives. 

" The most distinctive good feature of the inhabi- 
tants of Djowf is their liberality. Nowhere else, 
even in Arabia, is the guest, so at least he be not 
murdered before admittance, better treated, or more 
cordially invited to become in every way one of 
themselves. Courage, too, no one denies them, and 
they are equally lavish of their own lives and prop- 
erty as of their neighbors'. 

" Let us now resume the narrative. On the morn- 
ing after our arrival — it was now the 1st of July — 
Ghafil caused a small house in the neighborhood, 
belonging to one of his dependents, to be put at our 
entire disposal, according to our previous request. 
This, our new abode, consisted of a small court with 
two rooms, one on each side, for warehouse and hab- 
itation, the whole being surrounded with an outer 
wall, whose door was closed by lock and bolt. Of a 
kitchen-room there was small need, so constant and 
hospitable are the invitations of the good folks here 
to strangers ; and if our house was not over capa- 
cious, it afforded at least what we most desired, 
namely, seclusion and privacy at will ; it was, more- 
over, at our host's cost, rent and reparations. 

" Hither, accordingly, we transferred baggage and 
chattels, and arranged everything as comfortably as 



118 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

we best could. And as we liad already concluded, 
from the style and conversation of those around us, 
that their state of societj^ was hardly far enough ad- 
vanced to offer a sufficiently good prospect for med- 
ical art, whose exercise, to be generally advanta- 
geous, requires a certain amount of culture and 
aptitude in the patient, no less than of skill in the 
physician, we resolved to make commerce our main 
affair here, trusting that by so doing we should gain 
a second advantage, that of lightening our rnoi-e 
bulky goods, such as coffee and cloth, whose trans- 
port had already annoyed us not a little. 

" But in fact we were not more desirous to sell 
than the men, women, and children of the Djowf 
were to buy. From the very outset our little court- 
yard was crowded with customers, and the most 
amusing scenes of Arab haggling, in all its mixed 
shrewdness and simplicity, diverted us through the 
week. ITandkerchief after handkerchief, yard after 
yard of cloth, beads for the women, knives, combs, 
looking-glasses, and what not ? (for our stock was a 
thorough miscellanj^) were soon sold off, some for 
ready money, others on credit; and it is but justice 
to say that all debts so contracted M'ere soon paid 
in very honestly ; Oxford High Street ti-adesmen, 
at least in former times, were not always equally 
fortunate. 

" Meanwhile we had the very best opportunity of 
becoming acquainted with and appreciating all class- 
es, nay, almost all individuals, of the place. Peasants, 
too, from various hamlets arrived, led by rumor, 
whose trumpet, prone to exaggerate under every sky. 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 119 

liad proclaimed us tlirongliout the valley of Djowf 
for much more important characters, and possessed 
of a much larger stock in hand, than was really the 
case. All crowded in, and before long there were 
more customers than wares assembled in the store- 
room. 

" Our manner of passing the time was as follows : 
We used to rise at early dawn, lock up the house, 
and go out in the pure cool air of the morning to 
some quiet spot among the neighboring palm-groves, 
or scale the wall of some garden, or pass right on 
through the by-lanes to where cultivation mci'ges in 
the adjoining sands of the valley ; in short, to any 
convenient place where we might hope to pass an 
liour of quiet, undisturbed by Arab sociability, and 
have leisure to plan our work for the day. We 
would then return home about sunrise, and find out- 
side the door some tall lad sent by his father, gen- 
erally one of the wealthier and more influential 
inhabitants of the quarter yet unvisited by us, wait- 
ing our return, to invite us to an early breakfast. 
We would now accompany our Mercury to his domi- 
cile, where a liearty reception, and some neighbors 
collected for the occasion, or attracted by a cup of 
good coffee, were sure to be in attendance. Here 
an liour or so would wear away, and some medical 
or mercantile transaction be sketched out. We, of 
course, would bring the conversation, whenever it 
was possible, on local topics, according as those pres- 
ent seemed likely to afford us exact knowledge and 
insight into the real state and circumstances of the 
land. We would then return to our own quarters. 



120 TEA VEL8 IN ARABIA 

where a crowd of customers, awaiting ns, would al- 
low us neither rest nor pause till noon. Then a short 
interval for date or pumpkin eating in some neigh- 
bor's house would occui-, and after that business be 
again resumed for three or four hours. A walk 
among the gardens, rarely alone, more often in com- 
pany with friends and acquaintances, would follow ; 
and meanwhile an invitation to supper somewhere 
had unfailingly been given and accepted." 

" After supper all rise, wash their hands, and then 
go out into the open air to sit and smoke a quiet 
pipe under the still transparent sky of the summer 
evening. Neither mist nor vapor, much less a cloud, 
appears; the moon dips down in silvery whiteness 
to the very verge of the palm-tree tops, and the last 
rays of daylight are almost as sharp and clear as the 
dawn itself. Chat and society continue for an hour 
or two, and then everyone goes home, most to sleep, 
I fancy, for few Penseroso lamps are here to be seen 
at midnight hour, nor does the spirit of Plato stand 
much risk of unsphering from the nocturnal studies 
of the Djowf ; we, to write our journal, or to com- 
pare observations and estimate characters. 

" Sometimes a comfortable landed proprietor would 
invite us to pass an extemporary holiday morning in 
his garden, or rather orchard, there to eat grapes and 
enjoy ourselves at will, seated under clustering vine- 
trellises, with palm-trees above and running streams 
around. How pleasant it was after the desert ! At 
other times visits of patients, prescriptions, and simi- 
lar duties would take up a part of the day; or some 
young fellow, particularly desirous of information 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 121 

about Syria or Egypt, or perhaps cnrions after his- 
tory and moral science, would hold us for a couple of 
hours in serious and sensible talk, at any rate to our 
advantage." 

It was necessary that the travellers should not de- 
lay in paying their official visit to Hamood, the vice- 
gerent of Telal. His residence is in the centi-e of 
the garden region, near a solitary round tower, whose 
massive stone walls are mentioned m Arabian poetry. 
Hamood's residence is an irregular structure, of more 
recent date, with no distinguishing feature except a 
tower about fifty feet in height. Palgrave and his 
companion were accompanied by a large number of 
their newly-found friends. After passing through 
an outer court, filled with armed guards, they found 
the ruler seated in his large reception-hall : 

" There, in the place of distinction, which he never 
yields to any individual of Djowf, whatever be his 
birth or wealth, appeared the governor, a strong, 
broad-shouldered, dark-browed, dark-eyed man, clad 
in the long white shirt of the country, and over it 
a handsome black cloak, embroidered with crimson 
silk; on his august head a silken handkerchief or 
keffee'yeh, girt by a white band of finely woven 
camel's hair; and in his fingers a grass fan. He 
rose graciously on our approach, extended to us the 
palm of his liand, and made us sit down near his 
side, keeping, however, Ghafil, as an old acquaint- 
ance, between himself and us, perhaps as a precau- 
tionary arrangement against any sudden assault or 
treasonable intention on our part, for an Arab, be lie 
who he may, is never off his guard when new faces 

'a 



122 TBAVEL8 IN ARABIA 

are in presence. In other respects he showed us 
mncli courtesy and good-will, made many civil in- 
quiries about our health after so fatiguing a joui'ney, 
praised Damascus and the Damascenes, by way of an 
indirect compliment, and offered us a lodging in the 
castle. But here Ghafil availed himself of the privi- 
leges conceded by Arab custom to priority of host- 
ship to put in his negative on our behalf ; nor were 
we anxious to press the matter. A pound or so of 
our choicest coffee, with which we on this occasion 
presented his excellency, both as a mute witness to 
the object of our journey, and the better to secure 
his good-will, was accepted very readily by the great 
man, who in due return offered us his best services. 
We replied that we stood in need of nothing save his 
long life, this being the Arab formula for rejoinder 
to such fair speeches ; and, next in order,- of means 
to get safe on to Ha'yel so soon as our business at 
the Djowf should permit, being desirous to establish 
ourselves under the immediate patronage of Telal. 
In this he promised to aid us, and kept his word." 

Hamood afterward politely returned their visit, 
and they frequently went to his castle for the pur- 
pose of studying the many interesting scenes pre- 
sented by the exercise of the very primitive Arab 
system of justice. Palgrave gives the following case 
as a specimen : 

" One day my comrade and myself were on a visit 
of mere politeness at the castle ; the customary cere- 
monies had been gone through, and business, at first 
interrupted by our entrance, had resumed its course. 
A Bedouin of the Ma'az tribe was pleading his cause 



BE81DBNGE IN THE DJOWF 123 

before Hamood, and accusing someone of having 
forcibly taken away his cameh The governor was 
seated with an air of intense gravity in his corner, 
half leaning on a cushion, while the Bedouin, cross- 
legged on the ground before him, and within six feet 
of his person, flourished in his hand a large reaping- 
hook, identically that which is here used for cutting 
grass. Energetically gesticulathig with this graceful 
implement, he thus challenged his judge's attention : 
' You, Hamood, do you hear ? ' (stretching out at the 
same time the hook toward the governor, so as almost 
to reach his body, as though he meant to rip him 
open) ; ' he has taken from me my camel ; have you 
called God to mind?' (again putting his weapon close 
to the unflinching magistrate). ' The camel is my 
camel ; do you hear ? ' (with another reminder from 
the reaping-hook) ; ' he is mine, by God's award, and 
yours too ; do you hear, child ? ' and so on, while 
Hamood sat without moving a muscle of face or 
limb, imperturbable and impassible till some one of 
the counsellors quieted the plaintiff with ' Kemem- 
ber God, child ; it is of no consequence, you shall 
not be wronged.' Then the judge called on the wit- 
nesses, men of the Djowf, to say their say, and on 
their confirmation of the Bedouin's statement, gave 
orders to two of his satellites to search for and bring 
before him the accused party ; while he added to the 
Ma'azee, ' All right, daddy, you shall have your own ; 
put your confidence in God,' and composedly mo- 
tioned him back to his place. 

"A fortnight and more went by, and found us still 
in the Djowf, 'honored guests' in Arab phrase, and 



124 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

well rested from the bygone fatigues of the desert. 
GhafiPs dwelling was still, so to speak, our oiScial 
home ; but there were two other lionses where M^e 
were still more at onr ease ; that of Dafee, the same 
who along with Ghafil came to meet ns on our fii'st 
arrival ; and that of Salim, a respectable and, m his 
wa}', a literary old man, our near neighboi-, and sur- 
rounded by a large family of fine strapping youths, 
all of them brought up more or less in the fear of 
Allah and in good example. Hither we used to 
retire when wearied of Ghafil and his like, and pass 
a quiet hour in their k'hawah, reciting or hearing 
Arab poety, talking over the condition of the country 
and its future prospects, discussing points of morality, 
or commenting on the ways and fashions of the day." 
The important question for the travellers was how 
they should get to Djebel Shomer, the great fertile 
oasis to the south, under the rule of the famous 
Prince Telal. The terrible JVefood, or sand-passes, 
which the Arabs themselves look upon with dread, 
must be crossed, and it was now the middle of sum- 
mer. The hospitable people of the Djowf begged 
Palgrave and his friends to remain until September, 
and they probably would have been delayed for some 
time but for a lucky chance. The Azzam tribe of 
Bedouins, which had been attacked by Prince Tela], 
submitted, and a dozen of their chiefs arrived at the 
Djowf, on their way to Djebel Shomer, where they 
purposed to win Telal's good graces by tendering him 
their allegiance in his very capital. Ilamood re- 
ceived them and lodged them for several days, while 
they rested from theii- past fatigues, and prepared 



RESIDENCE IN THE DJOWF 125 

themselves for what yet lay before them. Some in- 
liabitants of the Djowf, whose business required 
their presence at Ha'yel, were to join the party. 
" Ilaniood sent for us," Palgrave continues, " and 
gave us notice of this expedition, and on our declar- 
ing that we desired to profit by it, he handed us a 
scrap of paper, addressed to TeUil himself, wherein 
he certified that we had duly paid the entrance fee 
exacted from strangers on their coming within the 
limits of Sliomer rule, and that we were indeed re- 
spectable individuals, worthy of all good treatment. 
We then, in presence of Hamood, struck our bargain 
with one of the band for a couple of camels, whose 
price, including all the services of their master as 
guide and companion for ten days of July travelling, 
was not extravagant either; it came up to just a hun- 
dred and ten piastres, equivalent to eighteen or nine- 
teen shillings of English money. 

" Many delays occurred, and it was not till the 18tli 
of July, when the figs were fully ripe — a circumstance 
which furnished the natives of Djowf with new 
cause of wonder at our rushing away, in lieu of wait- 
ing like rational beings to onjoy the good things of 
the land — that we received our final ' Son of Ilo- 
deirah, depart.' This was intimated to us, not by a 
locust, but by a creature almost as queer, namely, our 
new conductor, a half-cracked Arab, neither peasant 
nor Bedouin, but something anomalous between the 
two, hight Djedey', and a native of the outskirts of 
Djebel Shomer, who darkened our door in the fore- 
noon, and warned us to make our final packing up, 
and get ready for starting the same day. 



126 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

"When once clear of the houses and gardens, 
Djedej' led ns by a road skirting the southern s^de 
of the valley, till we arrived, before sunset, at the 
other, or eastern, extremity of the town. Here was 
the rendezvous agreed on by our companions ; but 
they did not appear, and reason good, for they had 
right to a supper more under Hamood's roof, and 
were loath to lose it. So we halted and alighted 
alone. The chief of this quarter, which is above 
two miles distant from the castle, invited us to sup- 
per, and thence we returned to our baggage, there to 
sleep. To pass a summer's night in the open air on 
a soft sand bed implies no great privation in these 
countries, nor is anyone looked on as a hero for so 
doing. 

" Early next morning, while Yenus yet shone like 
a drop of melted silver on the slaty blue, three of 
our party arrived and announced that the rest of our 
companions would soon come up. Encouraged by 
the news, we determined to march on without further 
tarrying, and ere sunrise we climbed the steep ascent 
of the southerly bank, whence we had a magnificent 
view of the whole length of the Djowf, its castle and 
towers, and groves and gardens, in the ruddy light 
of morning, and beyond the drear northern deserts 
stretching far away. We then dipped down the 
other side of the bordering hill, not again to see the 
Djowf till — who knows when ? " 



CHAPTER X. 

PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS— CROSSINa THE NEFOOD 

" /^^UE. way was now to the southeast, across a 
v^ large plain varied with sand-monnds and 
covered with the ghada-bush, already described, so 
that our camels were much more inclined to crop 
pasture than to do their business in journeying ahead. 
About noon we halted near a large tuft of this 
shrub, at least ten feet high. We constructed a sort 
of cabin with boughs broken off the neighboring 
plants and suitably arranged shedwise, and thus 
passed the noon hours of intolerable heat till the 
whole band came in sight. 

"They were barbarous, nay, almost savage, fel- 
lows, like most Sherarat, wliether chiefs or people ; 
but they had been somewhat awed by the grandeurs 
of Hamood, and yet more so by the prospect of com- 
ing so soon before the terrible majesty of Telal him- 
self. All were duly armed, and had put on their 
best suits of apparel, an equipment worthy of a scare- 
crow or of an Irishman at a wake. Tattered red 
overalls ; cloaks with more patches than original 
substance, or, worse yet, which opened large mouths 
to cry for patching, but had not got it ; little broken 
tobacco pipes, and no trousers soever (by the way. 
all genuine Arabs are sans-culottes) / faces meagre 



128 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

with habitual hunger, and black with dirt and 
weather stains — such were the high-born chiefs of 
Azzam, on their way to the king's levee. Along 
with them w^ere two Bedonins of the Shoiner tribe, a 
degree better in guise and person than the Shera- 
rat ; and lastlj'^, three men of Djowf, who looked 
almost like gentlemen among such ragamuffins. As 
to my comrade and myself, I ti'ust that the reader 
will charitably suppose us the exquisites of the partj'. 
So we rode on together. 

" Next morning, a little after sunrise, we arrived 
at a white calcareous valley, girt round with low 
hills of marl and sand. Here was the famous Be'er 
Shekeek, or ' well of Shekeek,' whence we wei-e to 
fill our water-skins, and that thoroughly, since no 
other source lay before us for four days' march amid 
the sand passes, up to the very verge of Bjebel Slio- 
mer. 

" Daughters of the Great Desert, to use an Arab 
phrase, the ' Kefood,' or sand-passes, bear but too 
strong a family resemblance to their unamiable 
mother. What has been said elsewhere about their 
origin, their extent, their bearings, and their connec- 
tion with the Dhana, or main sand-waste of the 
south, may exempt me from here entering on a mi- 
nute enarration of all their geographical details ; let 
it suffice for the present that they are offshoots— in- 
lets, one might not unsuitably call them — of the great 
ocean of sand that covers about one-third of the pe- 
ninsula, into whose central and comparatively fertile 
plateau they make deep inroads, nay, in some places 
almost intersect it. Their general character, of which 




CAPTAIN BUETON AS A PILGRIM. 



CROSSING THE NEFOOD 129 

the following pages will, I trust, give a tolerably cor- 
rect idea, is also that of Dahna, or ' red desert,' it- 
self. The Arabs, always prone to localize rather 
than generalize, count these sand-streams by scores, 
but they may all be referred to four principal courses, 
and he who would -traverse the centre must necessa- 
rily cross two of them, perhaps even three, as we did. 
"The general type of Arabia is that of a central 
table-land, surrounded by a desert ring, sandy to the 
south, west, and east, and stony to the north. This 
outlying circle is in its turn girt by a line of moun- 
tains, low and sterile for the most, but attaining in 
Yemen and Oman considerable height, breadth, and 
fertility, while beyond these a narrow rim of coast is 
bordered by the sea. The surface of the midmost 
table-land equals somewhat less than one-half of the 
entire peninsula, and its special demarcations are 
much affected, nay, often absolutely fixed, by the 
windings and in-runnings of the Nefood. If to these 
central highlands, or J^edjed, taking that word in its 
wider sense, we add the Djowf, the Ta'yif, Djebel 
'Aaseer, Yemen, Oman, and Hasa, in short, wdiatever 
spots of fertility belong to the outer circles, we shall 
find that Arabia contains about two-thirds of culti- 
vated, or at least of cultivable, land, with a remaining 
third of irreclaimable desert, chiefly to the south. In 
most other directions the great blank spaces often 
left in maps of this country are quite as frequently 
indications of non-information as of real non-inhabi- 
tation. However, we have just now a strip, though 
fortunately only a strip, of pure, unmitigated desert 
before us, after which better lands await us 5 and in 



130 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

this hope let us take courage and boldly enter the 
Nefood. 

" Mueli had we heard of them from Bedouins and 
countrymen, so that we had made up our minds to 
something very terrible and very impracticable. But 
the reality, especially in these dog days, proved worse 
than aught heard or imagined. 

" We were now traversing an immense ocean of 
loose reddish sand, unlimited to the eye, and heaped 
up in enormous ridges, running parallel to each other 
from north to south, undulation after undulation, 
each swell two or three hundred feet in average 
height, with slant sides and rounded crests furrowed 
in every direction by the capricious gales of the des- 
ert. In the depths between the traveller finds him- 
self as it were imprisoned in a suffocating sand-pit, 
hemmed in by burning walls on every side ; while at 
other times, while laboring up the slope, he over- 
looks what seems a vast sea of fire, swelling under a 
heavy monsoon wind, and ruffled by a cross blast into 
little red-hot waves." 

Palgrave devotes several pages to his journey across 
the Kefood, bearing out in his general description its 
character, as above. 

Lady Anne Blunt, who with her husband and na- 
tive followers crossed the Nefood sixteen years later, 
however, takes issue with Mr. Palgrave as to its 
character, as will be found in Chapter XYIL, largely 
devoted to her travels in Arabia. 

Arriving at the eastern edge of the Nefood Pal- 
grave continues : 

" The morning broke on us still toiling amid the 



GROSSING THE NEFOOD 131 

sands. By daylight we saw onr straggling compan- 
ions like black specks here and there, one far ahead 
on a yet vigorous dromedary, another in the rear dis- 
mounted, and urging his fallen beast to rise by plung- 
ing a knife a good inch deep into its haunches, a 
third lagging in the extreme distance. Everyone 
for himself and God for us all ! — so we quickened our 
pace, looking anxiously before us for the hills of 
Djobbah, which could not now be distant. At noon 
we came in sight of them all at once, close on our 
right, wild and fantastic cliffs, rising sheer on the mar- 
gin of the sand sea. We coasted them awhile, till at 
a turn the whole plain of Djobbah and its landscape 
opened on our view. 

" Plere we had before us a cluster of black granite 
rock, streaked with red, and about seven hundred 
feet, at a rough guess, in height ; beyond them a 
large barren plain, partly white and encrusted with 
salt, partly green with tillage, and studded with palm- 
groves, amongst which we could discern, not far off, 
the village of Djobbah, much resembling that of 
Djowf in arrangement and general appearance, only 
smaller, and without castle or tower. Beyond the 
valley glistened a second line of sand-hills, but less 
wild and desolate-looking than those behind us, and 
far in the distance the main range of Djebel Sho- 
mer, a long purple sierra of most picturesque out- 
line. Had we there and then mounted, as we after- 
ward did, the heights on our right, we should have 
also seen in the extreme southwest a green patch 
near the horizon, where cluster the palm plantations 
of Teymah, a place famed in Arab history, and by 



132 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

some supposed identical with the Teman of Holy 
Writ. 

" But for the moment a drop of fresh water and a 
shelter from the July sun was much more in our 
thoughts than all the Teymahs or Temans that ever 
existed. My camel, too, was — not at the end of his 
wits, for he never had any — hut of his legs, and 
hardly capable of advance, while I was myself too 
tired to urge him on vigorously, and we took a fair 
hour to cross a narrow white strip of mingled salt 
and sand that yet intervened between us and the vil- 
lage. 

"Without its garden walls was pitched the very 
identical tent of our noble guide, and here his wife 
and family were anxiously awaiting their lord. Dje- 
dey' invited us — indeed he could not conformably 
with Sliomer customs do less — to partake of his 
board and lodging, and we had no better course than 
to accept of both. So we let our camels fling them- 
selves out like dead or dying alongside of the taber- 
nacle, and entered to drink water mixed with sour 
milk." Here the caravan rested for a day. 

" About sunrise on the 25th of July we left Djobbah, 
crossed the valley to the southeast, and entered once 
more on a sandy desert, but a desert, as I have before 
hinted, of a milder and less inhospitable character than 
the dreary Nefood of two daj's back. Here the sand is 
thickly sprinkled with shrubs and not altogether de- 
void of herbs and grass ; while the undulations of 
the surface, running invariably from north to south, 
according to the general rule of that phenomenon, 
are much less deeply traced, though never wholly ab- 



OBOSSII^G THE NEFOOD 133 

sent. We paced on all day ; at nightfall we found 
ourselves on the edge of a vast funiiel-like depression, 
where the sand recedes on all sides to leave bare the 
chalky bottom-strata below; here lights glimmering 
amid Bedouin tents in the depths of the valley in- 
vited us to try our chance of a preliminary supper 
before the repose of the night. We had, however, 
much ado to descend the cavity, so steep was the 
sandy slope ; while its circular form and spiral raark- 
ino- reminded me of Edgar Poe's imaginative ' Mael- 
Strom.' The Arabs to whom the watch-fires belonged 
were shepherds of the numerous Shomer tribe, 
whence the district, plain and mountain, takes its 
name. They welcomed us to a share of their supper ; 
and a good dish of rice, instead of insipid samh or 
pasty, augured a certain approach to civilization. 

" At break of day we resumed our march, and met 
with camels and camel-drivers in abundance, besides 
a few sheep and goats. Before noon we had got 
clear of the sandy patch, and entered in its stead on 
a firm gravelly soil. Here we enjoyed an hour of 
midday halt and shade in a natural cavern, hollowed 
out in a liigh granite rock, itself an advanced guard 
of the main body of Djebel Shomer. This moun- 
tain range now rose before us, wliollj^ unlike any 
other that I had ever seen ; a huge mass of crag and 
stone, piled up in fantastic disorder, with green val- 
lej^s and habitations intervening. The sun had not 
yet set when we reached the pretty village of Kenah, 
amid groves and waters — no more, however, running 
streams like those of Djowf, but an artificial irriga- 
tion by means of wells and buckets. At some dis- 



134 TMA VELS IN AttAmA 

tance from the houses stood a cluster of three or four 
large overshadowing trees, objects of peasant venera- 
tion here, as once in Palestine. The welcome of the 
inhabitants, when we dismounted at their doors, was 
hearty and hospitable, nay, even polite and consider- 
ate ; and a good meal, with a dish of fresh grapes 
for dessert, was soon set before us in the veranda of 
a pleasant little house, much reminding me of an 
English farm-cottage, whither the good man of the 
dwelling had invited us for the evening. All ex- 
pressed great desire to profit by our medical skill ; 
and on our reply that we could not conveniently open 
shop except at the capital, Ha'yel, several announced 
their resolution to visit us there ; and subsequently 
kept their word, though at the cost of about twenty- 
four miles of journey. 

"We rose very early. Our path, well tracked and 
trodden, now lay between ridges of precipitous rock, 
rising abruptly from a level and grassy plain ; some- 
times the road was sunk in deep gorges, sometimes 
it opened out on wider spaces, where trees and 
villages appeared, while the number of wayfarers, 
on foot or mounted, single or in bands, still increased 
as we drew nearer to the capital. There was an air 
of newness and security about the dwellings and 
plantations hardly to be found nowadays in any 
other part of Arabia, Oman alone excepted. I may 
add also the great frequency of young trees and 
ground newly enclosed, a cheerful sight, yet further 
enhanced by the total absence of ruins, so common 
in the East; hence the general effect produced by 
Djebel Shomer, when contrasted with most other 



GBOSSIIfG THE KEFOOD 136 

provinces or kingdoms aronnd, near and far, is that 
of a newly coined piece, in all its sharpness and 
shine, amid a dingy heap of defaced currency. It is 
a fresh creation, and shows what Arabia might be 
under better rule than it enjoys for the most part : 
an inference rendered the more conclusive by the 
fact that in natural and unaided fertility Djebel Sho- 
mer is perhaps the least favored district in the entire 
central peninsula. 

" We were here close under the backbone of 
Djebel Shomer, whose reddish crags rose in the 
strangest forms on our right and left, while a narrow 
cleft down to the plain-level below gave opening to 
the capital, Yeiy hard to bring an army through 
this against the will of the inhabitants thought I ; 
fifty resolute men could, in fact, hold the pass 
against thousands ; nor is there any other approach 
to Ha'yel from the northern direction. The town is 
situated near the very centre of the mountains; it 
was as yet entirely concealed from our view by the 
windings of the road amid huge piles of rock. 
Meanwhile from Djobbah to Ha'yel the whole plain 
gradually rises, running up between the sierras, 
whose course from northeast to southwest crosses 
two-thirds of the upper peninsula, and forms the out- 
work of the central high country. Hence the name 
of ]N^edjed, literally ' highland,' in contradistinction 
to the coast and the outlying provinces of lesser ele- 
vation. 

" The sun was yet two hours' distance above the 
western horizon, when we threaded the narrow and 
winding defile, till we arrived at its farther end. 



136 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Here we found onrselves on the verge of a large 
plain, many miles in length and breadth, and girt on 
every side by a high mountain rampart, while right 
in front of us, at scarce a quarter of an hour's march, 
lay the town of Ha'yel, surrounded by fortifications 
of about twenty feet in height, with bastion towers, 
some round, some square, and large folding gates at 
intervals ; it offered the same show of freshness, and 
even of something like irregular elegance, that had 
before sti-uck ns in the villages on our way. This, 
however, was a full-grown town, and its area might 
readily hold three hundred thousand inhabitants or 
more, were its streets and honses close packed like 
those of Brussels or Paris. But the number of citi- 
zens does not, in fact, exceed twenty or twenty-two 
thousand, thanks to the many large gardens, open 
spaces, and even plantations, included within the 
outer walls, while the immense palace of the mon- 
arch alone, with its pleasure-grounds annexed, occu- 
pies about one-tenth of the entire city. Our atten- 
tion was attracted by a lofty tower, some seventy 
feet in height, of recent construction and oval form, 
belonging to the royal residence. The plain all 
around the town is studded with isolated houses and 
gardens, the pi'operty of wealthy citizens, or of mem- 
bers of the kingly familj'^, and on the far-off skirts of 
the plain appear the groves belonging to Kafar, 'Ad- 
wah, and other villages, placed at the openings of the 
mountain gorges that conduct to the capital. The 
town walls and buildings shone yellow in the evening 
sun, and the whole prospect was one of thriving 
security, delightful to view, though wanting in the 



OROSSmO TEE NEFOOD 137 

peculiar luxuriance of vegetation offered by the val- 
ley of Djowf. A few Bedouin tents lay clustered 
close by the ramparts, and the great number of horse- 
men, footmen, camels, asses, peasants, townsmen, boys, 
women, and other like, all passing to and fro on their 
various avocations, gave cheerfulness and animation 
to the scene. 

" We crossed the plain and made for the town gate, 
opposite the castle; next, with no little difficulty, pre- 
vailed on our camels to pace the high-walled street, 
and at last arrived at the open space in front of the 
palace. It was yet an hour before sunset, or rather 
more ; the business of the day was over in Ha'yel, 
and the outer courtyard where we now stood was 
crowded with loiterers of all shapes and sizes. We 
made our camels kneel down close by the palace gate, 
alongside of some forty or fifty others, and then 
stepped back to repose our very weary limbs on a 
stone bench opposite the portal, and awaited what 
might next occur." 
10 



CHAPTER XI. 

PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS— LIFE IN HA'YEL 

"AT onr first appearance a slight stir takes place. 
iV The ciistomarj^ sahitatioiis are given and re- 
turned by those nearest at hand ; and a small knot of 
inquisitive idlers, come np to see what and whence 
we are, soon thickens into a dense circle. Many 
questions are asked, first of our conductor, Djedey, 
and next of ourselves ; our answers are tolerably 
laconic. Meanwhile a thin, middle-sized individual, 
whose countenance bears the type of smiling urbanity 
and precise etiquette, befitting his office at court, ap- 
proaches us. His neat and simple dress, the long 
silver-circled staff in his hand, his respectful saluta- 
tion, his politely important mannei", all denote hini 
one of the palace retinue. It is Seyf, the court cham- 
berlain, whose special duty is the reception and pres- 
entation of strangers. We rise to receive liira, and 
are greeted with a decorous ' Peace be with you, 
brothers,' in the fulness of every inflection and ac- 
cent that the most scrupulous grammarian could de- 
sire. We return an equally Priscianic salutation, 
' Whence have you come ? ' is the first question. ' May 
good attend you!' Of course we declare ourselves 
physicians from Syria, for our bulkier wares had 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 139 

been disposed of in the Djowf , and we wei-e now re- 
solved to depend on medical practice alone. 'And 
what do yon desire here in onr town? may God grant 
j^on success ! ' says Seyf. ' We desire the favor of 
God most high, and, secondly, that of Telal,' is our 
answer, conforming our style to the correctest formu- 
las of the country, which we had already begun to 
pick up. Whereupon Seyf, looking very sweet the 
while, begins, as in duty bound, a little encomiu-m 
on his master's generosity and other excellent quali- 
ties, and assures us that we have exactly reached right 
quarters. 

" But alas ! while my comrade and mj'self were 
exchanging side-glances of mutual felicitation at such 
fair beginnings, ITemesis suddenly awoke to claim 
her due, and the serenity of our horizon was at once 
overcast by an unexpected and most unwelcome 
cloud. My readers are doubtless already aware that 
nothing was of higher importance for us than the 
most absolute incognito, above all in whatever re- 
garded European origin and character. In fact, once 
known for Europeans, all intimate access and sincer- 
ity of intercourse with the people of the land would 
have been irretrievably lost, and our onward progress 
to l^edjed rendered totally impossible. These were 
the very least inconveniences that could follow snch 
a detection ; others much more disagreeable might 
also be well apprehended. Now thus far nothing 
had occiu-red capable of exciting serious suspicion ; 
no one had recognized us, or pretended to recognize. 
We, too, on our part, had thought that Gaza, Ma'an, 
and perhaps the Djowf, were the only localities 



140 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

where this kind of recognition had to be feared. But 
we had reckoned without our host ; the first real dan- 
ger was reserved for Ha'yel, within the very limits 
of Kedjed, and with all the desert-belt between us 
and our old acquaintances. 

" For while Seyf was running through the prelim- 
inaries of his politeness, I saw to my horror, amid 
the circle of bystanders, a figure, a face well known 
to me scarce six months before in Damascus, and 
well known to many others also, now merchant, now 
trader, !iow post-contractor, shrewd, enterprising, and 
active, though nigh fifty years of age, and intimate 
with many Europeans of considerable standing in 
Syria and Bagdad — one, in short, accustomed to all 
kinds of men, and not to be easily imposed on by 
any. 

"While I involuntarily stared dismay on my 
friend, and yet doubted if it could possibly be he, all 
incertitude was dispelled by his cheerful salutation, 
in the confidential tone of an old acquaintance, fol- 
lowed by wondering inquiries as to what wind had 
blown me hither, and what I meant to do here in 
Ha'yel. 

" Wishing him most heartily somewhere else, I 
had nothing for it but to ' fix a vacant stare,' to give 
a formal return of greeting, and then silence. 

" But misfortunes never come single. While I 
was thus on my defensive against so dangerous an 
antagonist in the person of my free-and-easy friend, 
lo! a tall, sinister - featured individual comes up, 
clad in the dress of an inhabitant of Kaseem, and 
abruptly breaks in with, ' And I too have seen him 



LIFE IN HA'YEL 141 

at Damascus,' naming at the same time the place and 
date of the meeting, and specifying exactly the cir- 
cumstances most calculated to set me down for a gen- 
uine European. 

" Had he really met me as he said ? I cannot 
precisely say ; the place he mentioned was one 
whither men, half-spies, ha If -travellers, and whole 
intriguei'S from the interior districts, nay, ev^en from 
Nedjed itself, not unfrequently resort ; aud, as I 
myself was conscious of having paid more than one 
visit there, my officious interlocutor might very pos- 
sibly have been one of those present on some such 
occasion. So that although I did not now recognize 
him in particular, there was a strong intrinsic proba- 
bility in favor of his ill-timed vei-acity ; and his thus 
coming in to support the first witness in his asser- 
tions rendered my predicament, already unsafe, yet 
worse. 

" But ere I could frame an answer or resolve what 
course to hold, up came a third, who, by overshoot- 
ing the mark, put the game into our liands. He too 
salaams me as an old friend, and then, turning to 
those around, now worked up to a most extraordi- 
nar}'- pitch of amazed curiosity, says, ' And I also 
know him perfectly well ; I have often met him at 
Cairo, where he lives in great wealth in a large house 
near the Kasr-el-'Eynee ; his name is 'Abd-es-Saleeb ; 
he is married, and has a very beautiful daughter, who 
rides an expensive horse,' etc. 

" Here at last was a pure invention or mistake (for 
I know not wliich it was) that admitted of a flat de- 
nial. ' Aslahek Allah,' ' May Heaven set you right,' 



142 TRAY ELS IN ARABIA 

said I; 'never did I live at Cairo, nor have I the 
blessing of any horse-riding young ladies for daugh- 
ters.' Then, looking very hard at my second detect- 
or, toward whom I had all the right of doubt, ' I do 
not remember having ever seen you ; think well as 
to what you say ; many a man besides myself has a 
reddish beard and straw-colored mustaches,' taking 
pains, however, not to seem particularly ' careful to 
answer him in this matter,' but as if merely ques- 
tioning the precise identity. But for the first of the 
trio I knew not what to do or to reply, so I contin- 
ued to look at him with a killing air of inquisitive 
stupidity, as though not fully undei'standing his 
meaning. 

" But Seyf, though himself at first somewhat stag- 
gered by this sudden downpour of I'ecognition, was 
now reassured by the discomfiture of the third wit- 
ness, and came to the convenient conclusion that the 
two others were no better worthy of credit. ' Never 
mind them,' exclaimed he, addressing himself to us, 
' they are talkative liars, mere gossipers ; let them 
alone, they do not deserve attention ; come along 
with me to the k'hawah in the palace, and rest your- 
selves.' Then turning to my poor Damascene friend, 
whose only wrong was to have been overmuch in 
the right, he sharplj^ chid him, and next the rest, 
and led us off, most glad to follow the leader, 
through the narrow and dark portal into the royal 
residence. 

" Plere we remained whilst coffee was, as wont, 
prepared and served. Seyf, who had left us awhile, 
now came back to say that Telal would soon return 



LIFE TN HA' TEL 14:3 

from his afternoon walk in a garden where he had 
been taking the air, and that if we would pass into 
the outer court we should then and there have the 
opportunity of paying him our introductory respects. 
He added that we should afterward find our supper 
ready, and be provided also with good lodgings for 
the night ; finally, that the k'hawah and what it con- 
tained were always at our disposition so long as we 
should honor Ha'yel by our presence. 

" We rose accordingly and returned with Seyf to 
the outside area. It was fuller than ever, on account 
of the expected appearance of the monarch. A few 
minutes later we saw a crowd approach from the 
upper extremity of the place, namely, that toward 
the market. When the new-comers drew near, we 
saw them to be almost exclusively armed men, with 
some of the more important-looking citizens, but all 
on foot. In the midst of this circle, thongh detached 
from those around them, slowly advanced three per- 
sonages, whose dress and deportment, together with 
the respectful distance observed by the rest, an- 
nounced superior rank. ' Here comes Telal,' said 
Seyf, in an undertone. 

" The midmost figure was in fact that of the prince 
himself. Short of stature, broad-shouldered, and 
strongly built, of a very dusky complexion, with long 
black hair, dark and piercing eyes, and a countenance 
rather severe than open, Telal might readily be sup- 
posed above forty years in age, though he is in fact 
thirty-seven or thirty-eight at most. His step was 
measured, his demeanor grave and somewhat haughty. 
Plis dress, a long robe of cashmere shawl, covered 



144 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the white Arab sliirt, and over all he wore a deli- 
cately worked cloak of camel's-hair from Oman, a 
great rarity, and highl}'- valued in this part of Arabia. 
His head was adorned by a broidered handkerchief, 
in which silk and gold thread had not been spared, 
and girt by a broad band of camel's-hair entwined 
with red silk, the manufacture of Meshid 'Alee. A 
gold-mounted sword himg by his side, and his dress 
was perfnmed with musk, in a degree better adapted 
to Arab than to European nostrils. His glance never 
rested for a moment ; sometimes it turned on liis 
nearer companions, sometimes on the crowd ; I have 
seldom seen so truly an ' eagle eye,' in rapidity and 
in brillianc3\ 

" By his side walked a tall, thin individual, clad in 
garments of somewhat less costly material, but of 
gayer colors and embroidery than those of the king 
himself. His face announced unusual intelligence 
and courtly politeness ; his sword was not, however, 
adorned with gold, the exclusive privilege of the 
royal family, but with silver onl}^ 

This was Zamil, the treasurer and prime minister 
— sole minister, indeed, of the autocrat. Raised 
from beggary by Abdallah, the late king, who had 
seen in the ragged orphan signs of rare capacity, he 
continued to merit the uninterrupted favor of his 
patron, and after his death had become equally, or 
yet more, dear to Telal, who raised him from post to 
post, till he at last occupied the highest position in 
the kingdom after the monarch himself. Of the de- 
murely smiling Abd-el-Mahsin, the second companion 
of the king's evening walk^ I will say nothing for the 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 145 

moment ; we shall have him before long for a very 
intimate acquaintance and a steady friend. 

" Everyone stood np as Telal drew nigh. Seyf 
gave us a sign to follow him, made way through the 
crowd, and saluted his sovereign with the authorized 
formula of ' Peace be with j^ou, O the Protected of 
God ! ' Telal at once cast on us a penetrating glance, 
and addressed a question in a low voice to Seyf, 
whose answer was in the same tone. The prince 
then looked again toward us, but with a friendlier 
expression of face. We approached and tonched his 
open hand, repeating the same salutation as that used 
by Seyf. No bow, hand-kissing, or other ceremony 
is customary on these occasions. Telal returned our 
greeting, and then, without a word more to us, whis- 
pered a moment to Seyf, and passed on through the 
palace gate. 

" ' He will give you a private audience to-morrow,' 
said Seyf, ' and I will take care that you have notice 
of it in due time ; meanwhile come to supper.' The 
sun had already set when we re-entered the palace. 
This time, after passing the arsenal, we turned aside 
into a large square court, distinct from the former, 
and surrounded by an open veranda, spread with 
mats. Two large ostriches, presents offered to Telal 
by some chiefs of the Solibah tribe, strutted abont 
the enclosure, and afforded much amusement to the 
negro boys and scullions of the establishment. Seyf 
conducted us to the further side of the court, where 
we seated ourselves under the portico. 

" Hither some black slaves immediately brought 
the supper ; the ' piece de resistance ' was, as usual, a 



146 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

liiige dish of rice and boiled meat, with some thin 
cakes of unleavened bread and dates, and small 
onions with chopped gourds intermixed. The cook- 
ery was better than what we had heretofore tasted, 
though it would, perhaps, have hardly passed muster 
with a Yatel. We made a hearty meal, took coffee 
in the k'hawah, and then returned to sit awhile and 
smoke our pipes in the open air. Needs not say how 
lovely are the summer evenings, how cool the breeze, 
how pure the sky, in these mountainous districts." 

Palgrave gives a historical sketch of the rise of 
Prince Tela! to a position of power and importance 
in Central Arabia, scarcely secondary to that of the 
Wahabee ruler of ISTedjed. The region of Djebel 
Shomer was subjected to the Wahabee rule during 
the last century, and the severe discipline of the new 
creed was forced upon its inhabitants. But, after 
the taking of Derreyeh by Ibrahim Pasha, the peo- 
ple regained a partial independence, and a rivalry 
for the chieftainship ensued between the two noble 
houses of Djaaper and Beyt Alee. The leader of the 
former was a young man named Abdallah, of more 
than ordinary character and intelligence, wealthy and 
popular. But he was defeated in the struggle, and 
about the year 1820 was driven into exile. 

With a small band of followers he reached the 
Wady Sirhan (traversed by Palgrave on his way to 
the Djowf), where they were attacked hy the Aney- 
zeh Bedouins, all the rest slain, and Abdallah left for 
dead on the sands. The Arab story is that the lo- 
custs came around them, scattered the sand with their 
wings and feet upon his wounds and thus stopped the 



LIFE IN HA'YEL 147 

flow of blood, while a flock of partridges hnng above 
him to screen him from the burning sun. A mer- 
chant of Damascus, passing bj with his caravan, 
beheld the miracle, took the youth, bound up his 
wounds, and restored him to health by the most ten- 
der care. When he had recovered his vigor in Da- 
mascus, the generous merchant sent him back to 
Arabia. 

He went first to the Kedjed, entered the service of 
the Wahabee chief, rose to high military rank, and 
finally, by his own personal bravery, secured the sov- 
ereignt}^ to Feysul, the present (1863) ruler. The lat- 
ter then gave him an army to recover his heritage of 
Djebel Shomer, and about the year 1830 his sway 
was secured in his native country. The rival clan 
of Beyt Alee was extirpated, only one child being 
left, whom Telal afterward, with a rare but politic 
generosity, restored to wealth and honors. 

Abdallah took every means to strengthen his pow- 
er. He found it necessary, through his dependence 
on Feysul, to establish the Wahabee creed ; he used 
the Bedouins as allies, in order to repress the rivalry 
of the nobles, and thus gained power at the expense 
of popularity. Many plots were formed against 
him, many attempts made to assassinate him, but 
they all failed : his lucky star attended him through- 
out. Up to this time he had dwelt in a quarter of 
the capital which the old chieftains and the noblity 
had mainly chosen for their domicile, and wliere the 
new monarch was surrounded by men his equals in 
birth and of even more ancient title to command. 
But now he added a new quarter to the town, and 



148 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

there laid the foundations of a vast palace destined 
for the future abode of the king and the display of 
all his grandeur, amid streets and nobles of his own 
creation. The walls of the projected edifice were 
fast rising when he died, almost suddenly, in 1844 or 
1845, leaving three sons — Telal, Meta'ab, and Mo- 
hammed — the eldest scarce twenty years of age, be- 
sides his only surviving brother Obeyd, who could 
not then have been mnch under fifty. 

" Telal was already highly popular," says Palgi-ave, 
" much more so than his father, and had given early 
tokens of those superior qualities which accompanied 
him to the throne. All parties united to proclaim 
him sole heir to the kingdom and lawful successor 
to the regal power, and thus the rival pretensions 
of Obeyd, hated by many and feared by all, were 
smothered at the outset and put aside without a con- 
test. 

" The young sovereign possessed, in fact, all that 
Arab ideas require to insure good government and 
lasting popularity. Affable toward the common peo- 
ple, reserved and haughty with the aristocracy, cour- 
ageous and skilful in war, a lover of commerce and 
building in time of peace, liberal even to profusion, 
yet always careful to maintain and augment the state 
revenue, neither over-strict nor yet scandalously lax 
in religion, secret in his designs, but never known to 
break a promise once given, or violate a plighted 
faith ; severe in administration, yet averse to blood- 
shed, he offered the very type of what an Arab 
prince should be. I might add, that among all rulers 
or governors, European or Asiatic, with wliose ac- 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 149 

quaintance I have ever chanced to be honored, I 
know few equal in the true art of government to 
Tela), son of Abdallah-ebn-Rasheed. 

" His first cares were directed to adorn and civil- 
ize the capital. Under his orders, enforced by per- 
sonal superintendence, the palace commenced by his 
father was soon brought to completion. But he 
added, what probably his father would hardly have 
thought of, a long row of warehouses, the dependen- 
cies and property of the same palace ; next he built 
a market-place consisting of about eighty shops or 
magazines, destined for public commerce and trade, 
and lastly constructed a large mosque for the official 
prayers of Friday. Round the palace, and in many 
other parts of the town, he opened streets, dug wells, 
and laid out extensive gardens, besides strengthening 
the old fortifications all round and adding new ones. 
At the same time he managed to secure at once the 
fidelity and the absence of his dangerous micle by 
giving him charge of those military expeditions 
which best satisfied the restless energy of Obeyd. 
The first of these wars was directed, I know not on 
what pretext, against Kheybar. But as Telal in- 
tended rather to enforce submission than to inflict 
ruin, he associated with Obeyd in the military com 
mand his own brother Meta'ab, to put a check on the 
ferocity of the former. Kheybar was conquered, 
and Telal sent thither, as 'governor in his name, a 
young man of Ha'yel, prudent and gentle, whom I 
subsequently met when he was on a visit at the capital. 

" Not long after, the inhabitants of Kaseem, weary 
of Wahabee tyranny, turned their eyes toward Telal, 



150 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

who had ah-eady given a generous and inviolable asy- 
lum to the numerous political exiles of that district. 
Secret negotiations took place, and at a favorable 
moment the entire uplands of that province — after 
a fashion not indeed peculiar to Arabia — annexed 
themselves to the kingdom of Shomer by universal 
and unanimous suffrage. Telal made suitable apolo- 
gies to the Ned jean monarch, the original sovereign 
of the annexed district ; he could not resist the popu- 
lar wish ; it had been forced on him, etc. — but West- 
ern Europe is familiar with the style. Feysul felt 
the inopportuneness of a quarrel with the rapidly 
growing power to which he himself had given origin 
only a few years before, and, after a wry face or two, 
swallowed the pill. Meanw'hile Telal knowing the 
necessity of a high militar}' reputation, both at home 
and abroad, undertook in person a series of opera- 
tions againts Teyma' and its neighborhood, and at 
last against the Djowf itself. Everywhere his arras 
were successful, and his moderation in victory secured 
the attachment of the vanquished themselves. 

" Toward his own subjects his conduct is uni- 
formly of a nature to merit their obedience and at- 
tachment, and few sovereigns have here met with 
better success. Once a day, often twice, he gives 
public audience, hears patiently, and decides in per- 
son, the minutest causes with great good sense. To 
the Bedouins, no insignificant portion of his rule, he 
makes up for the restraint he imposes, and the trib- 
ute he levies from them, by a profusion of hospital- 
ity not to be found elsewhere in the whole of Arabia 
from Akabah to Aden, His guests at the midday 



LIFE IN HA'YEL 151 

and evening meal are never less than fifty or sixty, 
and I have often connted up to two hundred at a 
banquet, while presents of dress and arms are of fre- 
quent if not daily occurrence. It is hard for Europe- 
ans to estimate how much popularity such conduct 
brings an Asiatic prince. Meanwhile the townsfolk 
and villagers love him for the more solid advantages 
of undisturbed peace at home, of flourishing com- 
merce, of extended dominion, and military glory. 

" To capital punishment he is decidedly adverse, 
and the severest penalty with which he has hitherto 
chastised political offences is banishment or prison. 
Indeed, even in cases of homicide or murder, he has 
been known not unfrequently to avail himself of the 
option allowed by Arab custom between a fine and 
retaliation, and to buy off the offender, by bestowing 
on the family of the deceased the allotted price of 
blood fi'om his own private treasury, and that from 
a pure motive of humanity. When execution does 
take place, it is always by beheading; nor is indeed 
any other mode of putting to death customary in 
Arabia. Stripes, however, are not uncommon, though 
administered on the broad back, not on the sole of 
the foot. They are the common chastisenient for 
minor offences, like stealing, cursing, or quarrelling ; 
in this last case both parties usually come in for their 
share. 

" With his numerous retainers he is almost over- 
indulgent, and readily pardons a mistake or a negli- 
gence ; falsehood alone he never forgives ; and it is 
notorious that whoever has once lied to Telal must 
give up all hopes of future favor." 



152 TRAVELS nv ARABIA 

After describing the public audience which is daily 
given by this excellent prince, Palgrave describes the 
more private reception which was accorded to him- 
self and his companion : 

" Telal, once free from the mixed crowd, pauses a 
moment till we rejoin him. The simple and custom- 
ary salutations are given and returned. I then pre- 
sent him with our only available testimonial, the 
scrap written by Hamood from the Djowf. He opens 
it, and hands it over to Zamil, better skilled in read- 
ing than his master. Then laying aside all his 
wonted gravity, and assuming a good-humored smile, 
he takes my hand in his right and my companion's in 
his left, and thus walks on with us through the court, 
past the mosque, and down the market-place, while 
his attendants form a moving wall behind and on 
either side. 

" He was in his own mind thoroughly persuaded 
that we were, as we appeared, Syrians ; but imag- 
ined, nor was he entirely in the wrong thus far, that 
we had other objects in view than mere medical 
practice. But if he was right in so much, he was less 
fortunate in the interpretation he chose to put on our 
riddle, having imagined that our real scope must be 
to buy horses for some government, of which we 
must be the agents ; a conjecture which had certainly 
the merit of plausibility. However, Telal had, I be- 
lieve, no doubt on the matter, and had ali-eady deter- 
mined to treat us well in the horse business, and to 
let us have a good bargain, as it shortl}^ appeared. 

" Accordingly he began a series of questions and 
cross-questions, all in a jocose way, but so that the 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 153 

very drift of his inquiries soon allowed us to perceive 
what he really esteemed us. We, following our 
previous resolution, stuck to medicine, a family in 
want, hopes of good success under the royal patron- 
age, and much of the same tenor. But Telal was 
not so easily to be blinkered, and kept to his first 
judgment. Meanwhile we passed down the street, 
lined with starers at the king and us, and at last ar- 
rived at the outer door of a large house near the 
farther end of the Sook or market-place ; it belonged 
to Hasan, the merchant from Meshid 'Alee. 

" Three of the retinue stationed themselves by 
way of guard at the street door, sword in hand. 
The rest entered with the king and ourselves ; we 
traversed the court-yard, where the remainder of the 
armed men took position, while we went on to the 
k'hawah. It was small, but well furnished and car- 
peted. Hei-e Telal placed us amicably by his side in 
the highest place ; his brother Mohammed and five 
or six others were admitted, and seated themselves 
each according to his rank, while Hasan, being mas- 
ter of the house, did the honors. 

" Coffee was brought and pipes lighted. Mean- 
time Ebn-Rasheed renewed his interrogatory, skil- 
fully throwing out side remarks, now on the govern- 
ment of Syria, now on that of Egypt, then on the 
Bedouins to the north of Djowf, or on the tribes of 
Hedjaz, or on the banks of the Euphrates, thus to 
gain light whence and to what end we had in fact 
come. ISText he questioned us on medicine, perhaps 
to discover whether we had the right professional 
tone ; then on horses, about which same noble ani- 
11 



154 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

mals we affected an ignorance unnatural and very un- 
pardonable in an Englishman ; but for which I hope 
afterward to make amends to my readers. All was 
in vain ; and after a full hour our noble friend had 
only managed by his cleverness to get himself farther 
off the right track than he had been at the outset. 
He felt it, and determined to let matters have their 
own course, and to await the result of time. So he 
ended by assuring us of his entire confidence and 
protection, offering us, to boot, a lodging on the palace 
grounds. But this we declined, being desirous of 
studying the country as it was in itself, not through 
the medium of a court atmosphere ; so we begged 
that an abode might be assigned us as near the 
market - place as possible ; and this he promised, 
though evidently rather put out by our independent 
ways. 

" Excellent M-ater-melons, ready peeled and cut up, 
with peaches hardly ripe, for it was tlie beginning of 
the season, were now brought in, and we all partook 
in common. This w^as the signal for breaking np ; 
Telal renewed his proffers of favor and patronage ; 
and we were at last reconducted to our lodgings by 
one of the royal guard. 

" Seyf now went in search of a permanent dwell- 
ing-place wherein to install ns ; and, before evening, 
succeeded in finding one situated in a street leading 
at right angles to the market, and at no unreasonable 
distance from the palace. Every dooi- was provided 
with its own distinct lock ; the keys here are made of 
iron, and in this respect Ha'yel has the better of any 
other Arab town it was my chance to visit, where the 



LIFE IN HA'YEL 155 

keys were invariablj'- wooden, and thus very liable to 
break and get ont of order. 

" The court-yard was soon thronged with visitors, 
some from the palace, others from the town. One 
had a sick relation, whom he begged us to come and 
see, another some personal ailment, a third had 
called out of mere politeness or curiosity ; in short, 
men of all conditions and of all ages, but for the 
most part open and friendly in manner, so that we 
could already anticipate a very speedy acquaintance 
with the town and whatever it contained. 

" The nature of our occupations now led to a cer- 
tain daily routine, though it was often agreeably di- 
versified by incidental occurrences. Perhaps a leaf 
taken at random from my journal, now regularly 
kept, may serve to set before my readers a tolerable 
sample of our ordinary course of life and society at 
ITa'yel, while it will at the same time give a more 
distinct idea of the town and people than we have 
yet supplied. 

" Be it, then, the 10th of August, whose jotted notes 
1 will put together and fill up the blanks. I miglit 
equally have taken the 9th or the 11th, they are all 
much the same ; but the day I have chosen looks a 
little the closer written of the two, and for that sole 
reason I prefer giving it. 

" On that day, then, in 1862, about a fortnight 
after our establishment at Ha'yel, and when we were, 
in consequence, fully inured to our town existence, 
Seleem Abou Mahmood-el-'Eys and Barakat-esh- 
Sharaee, that is, my companion and myself, rose, not 
from our beds, for we had none, but from our roof- 



156 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

spread carpets, and took advantage of the silent 
lionr of the first faint dawn, while the stars jet kept 
watch in the sky over the slnmbering inhabitants of 
Shomer, to leave the honse for a cool and undis- 
turbed walk ere the sun should arise and man go 
forth unto his work and to his labor. "We locked the 
outer dooi-, and then passed into the still twilight 
gloom down the cross-street leading to the market- 
place, which we next followed up to its fai'ther or 
southwestern end, where large folding-gates separate 
it from the rest of the town. The wolfish city-dogs, 
whose bark and bite, too, render walking the streets 
at night a rather precarious business, now tamely 
stalked away in the gloaming, while here and there a 
crouching camel, the packages yet on his back, and 
his sleeping driver close by, awaited the opening of 
the warehouse at whose door they had passed the 
night. Early though it was, the market gates were 
already unclosed, and the gnardian sat wakefnl in his 
niche. On leaving the market M-e had yet to go down 
a broad street of houses and gardens cheerfully inter- 
mixed, till at last we reached the M^estern wall of the 
town, or, rather, of the new quarter added by 'Ab- 
dallah, where the high portal between round flanking 
towers gave us issue on the open plain, blown over at 
this hour by a light gale of life and coolness. To the 
west, but some four or five miles distant, rose the 
serrated mass of Djebel Shomer, throwing up its 
black fantastic peaks, now reddened by the reflected 
dawn, against the lead-blue &ky. Northward the 
same chain bends round till it meets the town, and 
then stretches away for a length of ten or twelve 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 157 

days' journey, gradually losing in height on its ap- 
proach to Meshid 'Alee and the valley of the Eu- 
phrates. On our south we have a little isolated knot 
of rocks, and far off the extreme i-anges of Djebel 
Shomer, or 'Aja, to give it its historical name, in- 
tersected by the broad passes that lead on in the 
same direction to Djebel Solma. Behind us lies 
the capital. Telal's palace, with its liigh oval keep, 
houses, gardens, walls, and towers, all coming out 
black against the ruddy bars of eastern light, and be- 
hind, a huge pyramidal peak almost overhanging the 
town, and connected by lower rocks with the main 
mountain range to north and south, those stony ribs 
that protect the central heart of the kingdom. In 
the plain itself we can just distinguish by the doubt- 
ful twilight several blackish patches irregularly scat- 
tered over its face, or seen as though leaning upward 
against its craggy vei-ge ; these are the gardens and 
country houses of 'Obeyd and other chiefs, besides 
hamlets and villages, such as Kefar and 'Adwah, 
with their groves of palm and ' ithel ' (the Arab 
larch), now blended in the dusk. One solitary 
traveller on his camel, a troop of jackals sneaking off 
to their rocky cavern, a few dingy tents of Shomer 
Bedouins, such are the last details of the landscape. 
Far away over the southern hills beams the glory of 
Canopus, and announces a new Arab year ; the pole- 
star to the north lies low over the mountain tops. 

" We pace the pebble-strown flat to the south till 
we leave behind us the length of the town wall, and 
reach the little cluster of rocks already mentioned. 
We scramble up to a sort of niche near its summit, 



158 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

whence, at a height of a hundred feet or more, we 
can overlook the whole extent of the plain and wait 
the sunrise. Yet before the highest crags of Sho- 
mer are gilt with its first rays, or the long giant 
shadows of the easterly chain liave crossed the level, 
we see groups of peasants, who, driving their fruit 
and vegetable-laden asses before them, issue like lit- 
tle bands of ants from the mountain gorges around, 
and slowly approach on the tracks converging to the 
capital. Horsemen fj-om the town ride out to the 
gardens, and a long line of camels on the westerly 
Medina road winds up toward Ha'yel. AVe wait en- 
sconced in our rocky lookout and enjoy the view till 
the sun has risen, and the coolness of the nioht air 
warms rapidly into the sultry day ; it is time to re- 
turn. So we quit our solitary perch and descend to 
the plain, where, keeping in the shadow of the west- 
ern fortifications, we regain the town gate and thence 
the market. 

" There all is now life and movement ; some of 
the warehouses, filled with rice, flour, spices, or cof- 
fee, and often concealing in their inner recesses 
stores of the prohibited American w^eed, are already 
open ; we salute the owners while we pass, and they 
return a polite and friendly greeting. Camels are 
unloading in the streets, and Bedouins standing by, 
looking anything but at home in the town. The 
shoemaker and the blacksmith, those two main props 
of Arab handicraft, are already at their work, and 
some gossiping bystanders are collected around them. 
At the corner where our cross-street falls into the 
market-place, three or four country women are 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 159 

seated, with piles of melons, gourds, egg-plant fruits, 
and the other garden pi-oduce before them for sale. 
Mj companion falls a haggling with one of these 
village nymphs, and ends by obtaining a dozen ' bad- 
injans ' and a couple of water-melons, each bigger 
than a man's head, for the equivalent of an English 
twopence. With this purchase we return home, 
whej-e we shut and bolt the outer door, then take out 
of a flat basket what has remained from over night 
of our wafer-like Ha'yel bread, and with this and a 
melon make a hasty breakfast. I say a hasty one, 
for altliough it is only half an hour after sunrise, re- 
peated knocks at our portal show the arrival of pa- 
tients and visitors : early rising being iiere the fash- 
ion, and in reason must be wherever artificial liorhtins: 
is scanty. However, we do not at once open to our 
friends, nor will they take offence at the delay, but 
remain where they are, chatting together before our 
door till we admit them ; of so little value is time 
here, 

" In comes a young man of good appearance, clad 
in the black cloak common to all of the middle or 
upper classes in Central Arabia ; in his hand he 
bears a wand of the Sidr or lotos- wood. A silver- 
hilted sword and a glistening Kafee'yah announce 
him to be a person of some importance, while his 
long, black ringlets, handsome features, and slightly 
olive complexion, with a tall stature and easy gait, 
declare him a native of Djebel Shomer, and townsman 
of Ha'yel ; it is 'Ojeyl, tlie eldest-born of a large 
family, and successor to the comfortable house and 
garden of his father, not long since deceased, in a 



160 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

quarter of the town some twenty minutes' w'alk dis- 
tant. He leads by the hand his younger brother, a 
modest-looking lad of fair complexion and slim make, 
but almost blind, and evidently out of health also. 
After passing throngh the preliminary ceremonies of 
introduction to Barakat, he approaches my recess, 
and standing without, salutes me watli the greatest 
deference. Thinking him a desirable acquaintance 
I receive him very graciously, and he begs me to see 
what is the matter with his brother. I examine the 
case, finding it to be within the limits of my skill, 
and not likely to require more than a very simple 
course of treatment. Accordingly I make my bar- 
gain for the chances of recover}^ and find 'Ojeyl 
docile to the terms proposed, and with little disposi- 
tion, all things considered, to backwardness in pay- 
ment. Arabs, indeed, are in general close in driving 
a bargain and open in downright giving ; they will 
chaifer half a day about a penny, while they will 
throw awa}' the worth of pounds on the first asker. 
But 'Ojeyl w'as one of the best specimens of the Ha'- 
yel character, and of the clan Ta'i, renowned in all 
times for their liberal ways and high sense of honor. 
I next proceed to administer to ray patient such drugs 
as his state requires, and he receives them with that 
air of absolute and half- religious confidence which 
well-educated Arabs show to their physician, wdiom 
they regard as possessed of an almost sacred and 
supernatural power — a feeling, by the way, hardly 
less advantageous to the patient than to the practi- 
tioner, and which may often contribute much to the 
success of the treatment. 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 161 

" Daring the rest of my stay at Ha'yel, 'Ojeyl con- 
tinned to be one of my best friends, I had ahnost 
said disciples ; our mutual visits were frequent, and 
always pleasing and hearty. His brother's cure, 
which followed in less than a fortnight, confirmed 
his attachment, nor had I reason to complain of 
scantiness in his retribution, 

"Meanwhile the court-yard has become full of visit- 
ors. Close by my door I see the intelligent and de- 
murely smiling face of 'Abd-el-Mahsin, where he sits 
between two pretty and well-dressed boys ; they are 
the two elder children of Telal— Bedr and Bander, 
Their guardsman, a negro slave with a handsome cloak 
and sword, is seated a little lower down ; farther on 
ai-e two townsmen, one armed, the other with a wand 
at his side. A rough, good-natured youth, of a bronzed 
complexion, and whose dingy clothes bespeak his me- 
chanical profession, is talking with another of a dress 
somewhat different in form and coarser in material 
than that usually worn in Ha'yel ; this latter must be 
a peasant from some one of the mountain villages. 
Two Bedouins, ragged and uncouth, have straggled 
in with the rest ; while a tall, dark-featured youth, 
with a gilded hilt to his sword, and more silk about 
him than a Wahabee would approve, has taken his 
place opposite to 'Abd-el-Mahsin, and is trying to 
draw him into conversation. But this last has asked 
Barakat to lend him one of my Arabic books to read, 
and is deeply engaged in its perusal. 

" 'Ojeyl has taken leave, and I give the next turn of 
course to 'Abd-el-Mahsin. He informs me that Te- 
lal has sent me his two sons, Bedr and Bander, that 



162 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

I may examine their state of health, and see if they 
reqnire doctoring. This is in truth a little stroke of 
policy on Telal's part, who knows equally with my- 
self that the boys are perfectly well and want noth- 
ing at all. But he wishes to give us a mark of his 
confidence, and at the same time to help us in estab- 
lishing our medical reputation in the town ; for 
though by no means himself persuaded of tlie reality 
of our doctoral title, he understands tlie expediency 
of saving appearances before the public. 

" Well, the children are passed in review with all 
the seriousness due to a case of heart complaint or 
brain fever, while at a wink from me Barakat pre- 
pares in the kitchen a draught of cinnamon water, 
which, with sugar, named medicine for the occasion, 
pleases the young heirs of royalty and keeps up the 
farce ; 'Abd-el-Mahsin expatiating all the time to the 
bystanders on the wonderful skill with which I have 
at once discovered the ailments and their cure, and 
the small boys thinking that if this be medicine they 
will do their best to be ill for it every day. 

" 'Abd-el-Mahsin now commits them to the negro, 
who, however, before taking them back to the pal- 
ace, has his own story to tell of some personal ache, 
for which I prescribe without stipulating for pay- 
ment, since he belongs to the palace, where it is 
important to have the greatest number of friends 
possible, even on the back stairs. But 'Abd-el-Mah- 
sin remains, reading, chatting, quoting poetry, and 
talking history, recent events, natural philosophy, or 
medicine, as the case may be. 

"Let us now see some of the other patients. The 



LIFE IN HA'YEL 163 

gold-hilted swordsman has naturally a special claim 
on our attention. Pie is the son of Roshejd, Telal's 
maternal micle. Ilis palace stands on the other side 
of the way, exactly opposite to our lionse ; and 1 will 
say nothing more of him for the present, intending 
to pay him afterward a special visit, and thus be- 
come more thoroughly acquainted with the whole 
family. 

"Next let us take notice of those two townsmen 
who are conversino^, or rather 'chafHno;' together. 
Though both in plain apparel, and much alike in 
stature and features, there is yet much about them to 
distinguish the two ; one has a civilian look, the 
other a military. He of the wand is no less a per- 
sonage than Mohammed-el-Ivadee, chief justice of 
lla'yel, and of course a very important individual in 
the town. However, his exterior is that of an el- 
derly, unpretentious, little man, and one, in spite of 
the proverb which attributes gravity to judges, very 
fond of a joke, besides being a tolerable representa- 
tive of what may here be called the moderate party, 
neither participating in the fanaticism of the Waha- 
bee, nor yet, like the most of the indigenous chiefs, 
hostile to Mahometanism ; he takes his cue from the 
court direction and is popular with all factions be- 
cause belonging properly to none. 

" He requires some medical treatment for himself, 
and more for his son, a big, heavy lad with a swollen 
arm, who has accompanied him hither. Here, too, is 
a useful acquaintance, M^ell up to all the scandal and 
small talk of the town, and willing to communicate 
it. Our visits were frequent, and I found his house 



164 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

well stored with books, partly manuscript, partly 
printed in Egypt, and mainly on legal or religious 
subjects. 

" Of the country folks in the villages around, like 
Mogah, Delheraee'eh, and the rest, Mohammed-el- 
Kadee nsed to speak with a sort of half-contempt- 
uous pity, much like a Parisian talking of Low Bre- 
tons ; in fact, the difference between these rough and 
sturdy boors and the more refined inhabitants of the 
capital is, all due proportion allowed, no less re- 
markable here than in Europe itself. We will now 
let one of them come forward in his own behalf, and 
my readers shall be judges. 

" It is accordingly a stout clown from Mogah 
scantily dressed in working wear, and who has been 
occupied for the last half hour in tracing sundry dia- 
grams on the ground before him with a thick peach- 
tree switch, thus to pass his time till his betters shall 
have been sBrved. He now edges forward, and tak- 
ing his seat in front of the dooi', calls ray attention 
with an ' I say, doctor.' Whereon I suggest to him 
that his bulky corpoi-ation not being formed of glass 
or any other transparent material, he has by his 
position entirely intercepted whatever little light niy 
recess might enjoy. He apologizes, and shuffles an 
inch or two sideways. Next I inquire what ails him, 
not without some curiosity to hear the answ^er, so lit- 
tle does the herculean frame before me announce 
disease. Whereto Do'eymis, or whatever may be his 
name, replies, 'I say, I am all made up of pain.' 
This statement, like many others, appears to me 
rather too general to be exactly true. So I proceed 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 165 

in mj interrogatory : ' Does your head pain you ? ' 
' ]^o.' (I might have guessed that ; these^ fellows 
never feel what our cross-Channel friends entitle ' le 
mal des heaux espritsJ) ' Does your back ache ? ' 
* No.' ' Your arms ? ' ' No.' ' Your legs ? ' ' No.' 
' Your body ?' ' No.' ' But,' I conclude, ' if neither 
your head nor your body, back, arms, or legs pain 
you, how can you possibly be such a composition of 
suifering ? ' 'I am all made up of pain, doctor,' re- 
plies he, manfully intrenching himself within his 
first position. The fact is, that there is really some- 
thing wrong with him, but he does not know how 
to localize his sensations. So I push forward my in- 
quiries, till it appears that our man of Mogah has a 
chronic rheumatism ; and on ulterior investigation, 
conducted with all the skill that Barakat and I can 
jointly muster, it comes out that three or four months 
before he had an attack of the disease in its acute 
form, accompanied by liigh fever, since which he has 
never been hinjself again. 

" This mio-ht suffice for the diao-nosis, but I w^ish 
to see how he will find his way out of more intricate 
questions ; besides, the townsmen sitting by, and 
equally alive to the joke Math myself, whisper, ' Try 
him again.' In consequence, I proceed with, 'What 
was the cause of your first illness?' 'I say, doctor, 
its cause was God,' replies the patient. ' No doubt 
of that,' say I ; 'all things are caused by God : but 
what was the particular and immediate occasion?' 
'Doctor, its cause was God, and secondlj', that I ate 
camel's flesh when I was cold,' rejoins my scientific 
friend. ' But was there nothing else ? ' I suggest, 



160 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

not quite satisfied with the hicid explanation just 
given. ' Then, too, I drank camel's milk ; but it was 
all, I say, from God, doctor,' answers he. 

" Well, I consider the case, and make up my mind 
regarding the treatment. ]^ext comes the grand 
question of payment, which must be agreed on be- 
forehand, and rendered conditional on success ; else 
no fees for the doctor, not at Ha'yel only, but 
throughout Arabia. I inquire what he will give me 
on recovery. ' Doctor,' answers the peasant, ' I will 
give you, do you hear? I say, I will give you a 
camel.' But 1 reply that I do not want one. ' I say, 
remember God,' which being interpreted here means, 
' do not be unreasonable ; I will give you a fat 
camel, everyone knows my camel ; if you choose, 1 
will bring witnesses, I say.' And while I persist in 
refusing the proffered camel, he talks of butter, meal, 
dates, and such like equivalents. 

"There is a patient and a paymaster for j'ou. 
However, all ends by his behaving reasonably 
enough ; he follows my prescriptions with the or- 
dinary docility, gets better, and gives me for my 
pains an eigliteen-penny fee." 

During this residence in Ha'yel, Palgrave made 
many friends, and soon established those relations 
of familiar intercourse which are so much easier in 
Moslem than in Christian lands — a natural result of 
the preservation of the old importance, which in the 
earliest Hebrew days was attached to " the stranger." 
Palgrave's intimacies embraced many families related 
to Telal, and others, whose knowledge of Arabian 
history or literature made their acquaintance wel- 



LIFE IN HA'YEL 167 

come. His own knowledge of these subjects, for- 
tunately, was equal to theirs, and, from the number 
of his invitations to dinners and suppers, he seems 
to have been a welcome guest to the better classes 
of Ha'jel. One of the aristocracy, by name Do- 
hey, was his most agreeable acquaintance; and we 
quote the following pleasant account of his inter- 
course : 

"Dohey's invitations were particularly welcome, 
both from the pleasantness of his dwelling-place, and 
from the varied and interesting conversation that I 
was sure to meet with there. This merchant, a tall 
and stately man of between fifty and sixty years of 
age, and whose thin features were lighted up by a 
lustre of more than ordinary intelligence, was a 
thorough Ha'yelite of the old caste, hating Waha- 
bees from the bottom of his heart, eager for informa- 
tion on cause and effect, on lands and governments, 
and holding commerce and social life for the main 
props if not the ends of civil and national organiza- 
tion. His uncle, now near eighty years old, to judge 
by conjecture in a land where registers are not much 
in use, had journej^ed to India, and traded at Bom- 
bay ; in token whereof he still wore an Indian skull- 
cap and a cashmere shawl. The rest of tlie family 
were in keeping with the elder members, and seldom 
have I seen more dutiful children or a better edu- 
cated household. My readers will naturally under- 
stand that by education I here imply its moral not its 
intellectual phase. The eldest son, himself a middle- 
aged man, would never venture into his father's pres- 
ence without unbuckling his sword and leaving it in 



168 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the vestibule, nor on any account pi-esume to sit on 
a level with him or by his side in the divan. 

" The divan itself was one of the prettiest I met 
with in these parts. It was a large square room, 
looking out on the large house-garden, and cheer- 
fully lighted up by trellised windows on two sides, 
while the wall of the third had purposely been dis- 
continued at about half its height, and the open 
space thns left between it and the roof propped by 
pillars, between which ' a fruitful vine by the sides 
of the house ' was intertwined so as to fill up the in- 
terval with a gay net-work of green leaves and ten- 
drils, transparent like stained glass in tlie eastern 
sunbeams. Facing this cheerful light, the floor of 
the apartment was raised about two feet above tlie 
rest, and covered with gay Persian carpets, silk cush- 
ions, and the best of Arab f arnitnre. In the lower 
half of the k'hawah, and at its farthest angle, was 
the small stone coffee-stove, placed at a distance 
where its heat might not annoy the master and his 
guests. Many of the city nobility would here re- 
sort, and the talk generally turned on serious sub- 
jects, and above all on the parties and politics of 
Arabia ; while Dohey would show himself a thor- 
ough Arab patriot, and at the same time a courteous 
and indulgent judge of foreigners, qualities seldom 
to be met with together in any notable degree, and 
therefore more welcome. 

" Many a pleasant hour have I passed in this half 
greenhouse, half k'hawah, mid cheerful faces and 
varied talk, while inly commenting on the natural 
resources of this manly and vigorous people, and 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 169 

straining tlie eye of forethought to discern through 
the misty curtain of the future by what outlet their 
now unfruitful, because solitary, good may be brought 
into fertilizing contact witli that of other more ad- 
vanced nations, to the mutual benefit of each and 
all. 

" Talk went on with the ease and decorum charac- 
teristic of good Eastern society, without the flip- 
pancy and excitement which occasionally mars it in 
some countries, no less than over-silence does in 
others. To my mind the Easterns are generally 
superior in the science of conversation to the inhab- 
itants of the West ; perhaps from a greater neces- 
sity of cultivating it, as the only means of general 
news and intercourse where newspapers and pamph- 
lets are unknown. 

" Or else some garden was the scene of our after- 
noon leisure, among fruit-trees and palms, by the 
side of a watercourse, whose constant supply from 
the well hid from view among thick foliage, seemed 
the work not of laborious art, but of unassisted nat- 
ure. Here, stretched in the cool and welcome 
shade, would we for hours canvass with 'Abd-el- 
Mahsin, and others of similar pursuits, the respect- 
ive merits of Arab poets and authors, of Omar-ebn- 
el-Farid or Aboo'l 'Ola, in meetings that had some- 
thing of the x^ttic, yet with just enough of the Arab 
to render them more acceptable by their Semitic 
character of grave cheerfulness and mirthful com- 
posure. 

" Or when the stars came out, Barakat and my- 
self would stroll out of the heated air of the streets 
13 



lYO TBAVELS IN ARABIA 

and market to the cool open plain, and there pass an 
hour or two alone, or in conversation with what 
chance passer-by might steal on iis, half-imperceived 
and imperceiving in the dusk, and amuse ourselves 
with his simplicity if he were a Bedouin, or with his 
shrewdness if a townsman. 

" Thus passed our ordinary life at Ha'yel. Many 
minor incidents occurred to diversify it, many of the 
little ups and downs that human intercourse never 
fails to furnish ; sometimes the number of patients 
and the urgency of their attendance allowed of little 
leisure for aught except our professional duties ; 
sometimes a day or two would pass with hardly 
any serious occupation. But of such incidents my 
readers have a sufficient sample in what has been 
already set down. Suffice to say, that from the 27th 
of July to the 8th of September we remained doc- 
toring in the capital or in its immediate neighbor- 
hood." 

By this time Palgrave had obtained sufficient 
knowledge of the countiy, and was anxious to ad- 
vance farther eastward before the autumn — the best 
season for travel — should be spent. Now, the jour- 
ney across the Shomer frontier could only be pur- 
sued with Telal's cognizance, and by his good will. 
In fact, a passport bearing the royal signature is in- 
dispensable for all who desire to cross the boundary, 
especially into the Wahabee territory ; without such 
a document in hand no one would venture to conduct 
them. 

" Accordingly," he says, " we requested and ob- 
tained a special audience at the palace. Telal, of 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 171 

whose good-will we had received frequent, indeed 
daily, proofs during our sojourn at Ha'yel, proved a 
sincere friend — patron would be a juster word — to 
the last ; exemplifying the Scotch proverb about the 
guest not only who ' will stay,' but also who ' tnaun 
gang.' To this end he then dictated to Zatnil, for 
Telal himself is no scribe, a passport or general 
letter of safe conduct, enough to insure us good 
treatment within the limits of his rule, and even be- 
yond. 

" When this was written, Telal affixed his seal, 
and rose to leave us alone with Zamil, after a part- 
ing shake of the hand, and wishing us a prosperous 
journey and speedy return. Yet with all these mo- 
tives for going, I could not but feel reluctant to quit 
a pleasing town, where we certainly possessed many 
sincere friends and well-wishers, for countries in 
which we could by no means anticipate equal favor, 
or even equal safety. Indeed, so ominous was all that 
we heard about Wahabee Nedjed, so black did the 
landscape before us look, on nearer approach, that 
I almost repented of my resolution, and was consid- 
erably inclined to say, ' Thus far enough, and no far- 
ther.' 

" 'Obeyd, Telal's uncle, had left Ha'yel the day 
before on a military expedition against the Bedouins 
of the West. In common with all the sight-seers of 
the town, we had gone to witness his departure. It 
was a gay and interesting scene. 'Obeyd had caused 
his tent to be pitched in the plain without the north- 
ern walls, and there reviewed his forces. About 
one-third were on horseback, the rest were mounted 



172 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Oil light and speedy camels ; all had spears and 
matchlocks, to whicli the gentry added swords ; and 
while they rode hither and thither in sham manoeu- 
vres over the parade ground, the whole appearance 
was very picturesque and tolerably martial. 'Obeyd 
now unfurled his own peculiar standard, in which 
the green color, distinctive of Islam, had been added 
border-wise to the white ground of the ancestral 
Nedjean banner, mentioned fourteen centuries back 
by 'Omar-ebn-Kelthoom, the poet of Taghleb, and 
many others. Barakat and myself mixed with the 
crowd of spectators. 'Obeyd saw us, and it was now 
several days since vjq had last met. Without hesitat- 
ing he cantered up to us, and while he tendered his 
hand for a farewell shake, he said : ' I have heard 
that you intend going to Ri'ad ; there you will meet 
with 'Abdallah, the eldest son of Feysul ; he is my 
particular friend ; I should much desire to see you 
high in his good graces, and to that end I have writ- 
ten him a letter in your behalf, of which you your- 
selves are to be the bearers ; you will find it in my 
house, where I have left it for you with one of my 
servants.' He then assured us that if he found us 
still at Ha'j'el on his return, he would continue to be- 
friend us in every way ; but that if we journeyed 
forward to Nedjed, we should meet with a sincei-e 
friend in 'Abdallah, especially if we gave him the 
letter in question. 

" He then took his leave with a semblance of affec- 
tionate cordiality that made the bystanders stare ; 
thus supporting to the last the profound dissimula- 
tion which he had only once belied for a moment. 



LIFE IN HA' TEL 1Y3 

The letter was dnly handed over to iis the same 
afternoon by his head steward, whom he had left to 
look after the house and garden in his absence. 
Doubtless my readers will be ciirions to know what 
sort of recommendation 'Obeyd had provided ns with. 
It was written on a small scrap of thick paper, about 
four inches each way, carefully folded up and secured 
by three seals. However, ' our fears forgetting man- 
ners,' we thought best with Hamlet to make perusal 
of this grand commission before delivering it to its 
destination. So we undid the seals with precautions 
admitting of reclosing them in proper form, and read 
the royal knavery. I give it word for word ; it ran 
thus : ' In the name of God the Merciful, the Com- 
passionate, we, 'Obeyd-ebn-Rasheed, salute you, O 
'Abdallah, son of Feysul-ebn-Sa'ood, and peace be on 
you, and the mercy of God and His blessings.' (This 
is the invariable commencement of all Wahabee 
epistles, to the entire omission of the complimentary 
formulas used by other Orientals.) 'After which,' 
so proceeded the document, ' we inform you that the 
bearers of this are one Seleem-el-'Eys, and his com- 
rade, Barakat-esh-Shamee, who give themselves out 
for having some knowledge in ' — here followed a 
word of equivocal import, capable of interpretation 
alike by ' medicine ' or ' magic,' but generally used in 
Nedjed for the latter, which is at Ri'ad a capital 
crime. 'Now may God forbid that we should hear 
of any evil having befallen you. We salute also your 
father, Feysul, and your brothers, and all your family, 
and anxiously await your news in answer. Peace be 
with you.' Here followed the signet impression. 



174 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" A pretty recommendation, especially under the 
actual circumstances ! However, not content with 
tills, 'Obeyd found means to transmit further infor- 
mation regarding us, and all in the same tenor, to 
Ri'ad, as we afterward discovered. For his letter, I 
need hardlj^ say that it never passed from our posses- 
sion, where it yet remains as an interesting autograph, 
to that of 'Abdallah ; with whom it would inevitably 
have proved the one only thing wanting, as we shall 
subsequently see, to make us leave the forfeit of our 
lives in the JSTedjean man-trap. 

" Before evening three men knocked at our door ; 
they were our future guides. The eldest bore the 
name of Mubarek, and was a native of the suburbs 
of Bereydah ; all three were of the genuine Kaseem 
b]-eed, darker and lower in stature than the inhabi- 
tants of Ila'yel, but not ill-looking, and extremely 
affable in their demeanor. 

" We had soon made all necessary arrangements 
for our departure, got in a few scattered debts, 
packed up our pharmacopoeia, and nothing now re- 
mained but the pleasurable pain of farew^ells. They 
were many and mutually sincere. Meta'ab had in- 
deed made his a few days before, when he a second 
time left Ha'yel for the pastures ; Telal we had al- 
ready taken leave of, but there remained his younger 
brother Mohammed to give us a hearty adieu of good 
augury. Most of my old acquaintance or patients, 
Dohej^ the merchant, Mohammed the judge, Doheym 
and his family, not forgetting our earliest friend Seyf 
the chamberlain, Sa'eed, the cavalry officer, and others 
of the court, freemen and slaves, white or black (for 



LIFE IN HA'YEL 175 

negroes readily follow the direction indicated by tlieir 
masters, and are not ungrateful if kindly treated, 
while kept in their due position), and many others of 
whose names Homer would have made a catalogue 
and I will not, heard of onr near departure and came 
to express their regrets, with hopes of future meeting 
and return." 

" Early next morning, before day, Mnbarek and 
another of his conntrymen, named Dahesh, were at 
our door with the camels. Some of our town friends 
had also come, even at this hour, to accompany us as 
far as the city gates. We mounted our beasts, and 
while the first sunbeams streamed level over the 
plain, passed through the southwestern portal beyond 
the market-place, the 8th of September, 1862, and 
left the city of Ha'yel." 



CHAPTER XII. 

PALGKAVE'S TRAVELS— JOURNEY TO BEREYDAH 

ANOTHER stage of onr way. From Gaza to 
Ma'an, from Ma'an to the Djowf, from the 
Djowf to Ha'yel, three such had now been gone over, 
not indeed without some fatigue or discomfort, yet at 
comparatively little pei-sonal risk, except what nature 
herself, not man, might occasion. For to cross the 
stony desert of the northern frontiei", or the sandy 
Nefood in the very height of summer, could not be 
said to be entirely free from danger, where in these 
waterless wastes thirst, if nothing else, may alone, 
and often does, suffice to cause the disappearance of 
the over-venturous traveller, nay, even of mau}^ a 
Bedouin, no less eifectually than a lance-thrust or a 
musket-ball. But if nature had been so far unkind, 
of man at least we had hitherto not much to com- 
plain ; the Bedouins on the route, however rough 
and uncouth in their ways, had, with only one excep- 
tion, meant us fairly well, and the townsmen in gen- 
eral had proved friendly and courteous beyond our 
expectation. Once within the established govern- 
ment limits of Telal, and among his subjects, we had 
enjoyed our share in the common security afforded 
to wayfarers and inhabitants for life and property, 
while good success had hitherto accompanied us. 



JOURNEY TO BEBETDAH 177 

' Judge of the day by its dawn,' say tlie Arabs ; and 
although this proverb, like all proverbs, does not 
alvp-ays hold exactly true, whether for sunshine or 
cloud, yet it has its value at times. And thus, what- 
ever unfavorable predictions or dark forebodings our 
fi-iends might hint regarding the inner Nedjed and its 
denizens, we trusted that so favorable a past augured 
■ somewhat better things for the future, 

" From physical and material difficulties like those 
before met with, there was henceforward much less 
to fear. The great heats of summer were past, the 
cooler season had set in ; besides, our path now lay 
through the elevated table-land of Central Arabia, 
whose northern rim we had already surmounted at 
our entrance on the Djebel Shomei-, ISTor did there 
remain any uncultivated or sandy track to cross com- 
parable to the ISTefood of Djowf between Ha'j'el and 
Ri'ad ; on the contrary, we were to expect pasture 
lands and culture, villages and habitations, cool 
mountain air, and a sufficiency, if not an abundance, 
of water. Nor were our fellow - companions now 
mere Bedouins and savages, but men from town or 
village life, members of organized society, and so far 
civilized beings. 

" When adieus, lookings back, wavings of the 
liand, and all the customary signs of farewell and 
good omen were over between our Ha'yel friends and 
ourselves, we pursued our road by the plain Nvhich I 
have already described as having been the frequent 
scene of our morning walks; but instead of following 
the southwesterly path toward Kefar, whose groves 
and roof-tops now rose in a blended mass before us, 



178 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

we turned eastward, and rounded, thongli at some 
distance, the outer wall of Ha'jel for nearly half an 
hour, till we struck off hy a southeasterly track across 
stony ground, diversified here atid there by wells, 
each with a cluster of gardens and a few houses in its 
neighborhood. At last we reached a narrow winding 
pass among the cliffs of Djebel 'Aja', whose raid-loop 
encircles Ha'yel on all sides, and here turned our 
heads to take a last far-off view of what had been 
our home, or the agreeable semblance of a home, for 
sevei-al weeks. 

" Our only companions as yet were Mubarek and 
Dahesh. We had outstripped the rest, whose bag- 
gage and equipments had required a more tedious 
arrangement than our own. Before long they came 
up — a motley ci-ew. Ten or thereabouts of the 
Ivaseem, some from Bereydah itself, others from 
neighboring towns ; two individuals, who gave them- 
selves out, but with more asseveration than truth, to 
be natives of Mecca itself ; three Bedouins, two of 
whom belonged to the Shomer clan, the third an 
'Anezah of the north ; next a runaway negro, con- 
ducting four horses, destined to pass the whole 
breadth of Arabia, and to be shipped off at Koweyt, 
on the Persian Gulf, for Indian sale ; two merchants, 
one from Zulphah, in the province of Sedeyr, the 
other from Zobeyr, near Bussora ; lastly, two women, 
wives of I know not exactly whom in the caravan, 
with some small children ; all this making up, our- 
selves included, a band of twenty-seven or twenty- 
eight persons, the most mounted on camels, a few on 
horseback, and accompanied by a few beasts of bur- 



JOURNEY TO BERETDAH 179 

den alongside — such was our Canterbury pilgrims' 
group. 

" Thus assembled, on we went together, now amid 
granite rocks, now crossing grassy valleys, till near 
sunset we stopped under a high cliff, at the extreme 
southerly verge of Djebel 'Aja', or, in modern par- 
lance, of Djebel Shomer. The mountain here ex- 
tended far away to right and left, but in front a wide 
plain of full twenty miles across opened out before 
us, till bounded southward by the long bluish chain 
of Djebel Solma, whose line runs parallel to the 
heights we were now to leave, and belongs to the 
same formation and rocky mass denominated in a 
comprehensive way the mountains of Ta'i or Shomer. 

" At about three in the afternoon, next day, we 
saw, some way off to our west, a troop of Bedouins 
coming up from the direction of Medina. While 
they were yet in the distance, and half-hidden from 
view by the shrubs and stunted acacias of the plain, 
we could not precisely distinguish their numbers ; 
but they were evidently enough to make us desire, 
with Orlando, ' that we might be better strangers.' 
On our side we mustered about fifteen matchlocks, 
besides a few spears and swords. The Bedouins had 
already perceived us, and continued to approach, 
though in the desultory and circuitous way which 
they affect when doubtful of the strength of their 
opponent ; still they gained on us more than M^as 
pleasant. 

" Fourteen armed townsmen might stand for a 
reasonable match against double the number of Be- 
douins, and in any case we had certainly nothing bet- 



180 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

ter to do than to put a bold face on the matter. The 
'Eyoon chief, Foleyh, with two of his countrymen and 
Ghasliee, carefully primed their guns, and then set 
oif at full gallop to meet the advancing enemy, bran- 
dishing their weapons over their heads, and looking 
extremely fierce. Under cover of this manoBuvre the 
rest of our band set about getting their arms ready, 
and an amusing scene ensued. One had lost his 
match, and was hunting for it in his housings ; an- 
other, in his haste to ram the bullet home had it stick 
midway in the barrel, and could neither get it up nor 
down ; the lock of a third was rusty and would not 
do duty ; the women began to whine piteously ; the 
two Meccans, who for economy's sake were both lid- 
ing one only camel, a circumstance which caused be- 
tween them many international squabbles, tried to 
make their beast gallop oif with them, and leave the 
others to their fate ; while the more courageous ani- 
mal, despising such cowardly measures, insisted on 
remaining with his companions and sharing their 
lot ; all was thoroughly Arab, much hubbub and lit- 
tle done. Had the menacing feint of the four who 
protected our rear proved insufficient, we might all 
have been in a very bad predicament, and this feel- 
ing drew every face with reverted gaze in a backward 
direction. But the Harb banditti, intimidated by 
the bold countenance of Foleyh and his companions, 
wheeled about and commenced a skirmishing retreat, 
in which a few shots, guiltless of bloodshed, were fired 
for form's sake on either side, till at last our assail- 
ants fairly disappeared in the remote valley. 

" Our valiant champions now returned from pur- 



JOURNEY TO BEREYDAH 181 

suit, much elated with their success, and we jour- 
neyed on together, skirting the last rocky spur of 
Sohna, close by the spot where Hatim Ta'i, the well- 
known model, half mythic and half historical, of Arab 
hospitality and exaggerated generosity, is said to be 
buried. Here we crossed some low hills that form a 
sort of offshoot to the Solma mountain, and limit the 
valley ; and the last rays of the setting sun gilding to 
our view, in a sandy bottom some way off, the palm- 
trees of Feyd. 

" Feyd may be taken as a tolerable sample of the 
villages met with throughout Northern or Upper 
Kaseem, for they all bear a close likeness in their 
main features, though various in size. Imagine a lit- 
tle sandy hillock of about sixty or seventy feet high, 
in the midst of a wide and dusty valley ; part of the 
eminence itself and the adjoining bottom is covered 
by low earth-built houses, intermixed with groups of 
the feathery ithel. The grounds in the neighborhood 
are divided by brick walls into green gardens, where 
gourds and melons, leguminous plants and maize, 
grow alongside of an artificial irrigation from the wells 
among them ; palms in plenty — they were now heavy 
laden with red-brown fruits ; and a few peach or apri- 
cot trees complete the general lineaments. The outer 
walls are low, and serve more for the protection of the 
gardens than of the dwellings ; here are neither 
towers nor trenches, nor even, at least in many places, 
any central castle or distinguishable residence for the 
chief ; his habitation is of the same one-storied con- 
struction as those of his neighbors, only a little larger. 
Some of the townlets are quite recent, and date from 



182 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the Sliomer annexation, which gave this part of the 
province a degree of quiet and prosperity unknown 
under their former Wahabee rulers. 

"Next morning, the 10th of September, we were 
all up by moonlight, two or three hours before dawn, 
and off on our road to the southeast. The whole coun- 
try that we had to traverse for the next four days 
was of so uniform a character that a few words of 
description may here serve for the landscape of this 
entire stage of our journey. 

" Upper Kaseem is an elevated plateau or steppe, 
and forms part of a long upland belt, crossing diago- 
nally the northern half of the peninsula ; one extrem- 
ity reaches the neighborhood of Zobeyr and the Eu- 
phrates, while the other extends downward to the 
vicinity of Medina. Its surface is in general covered 
with grass in the spring and summer seasons, and 
with shrubs and brushwood at all times, and thus af- 
fords excellent pasture for sheep and camels. Across 
it blows the fresh eastern gale, so celebrated in Arab 
poetry under the name of 'Seba I^edjin,' or 'Zephyr 
of ]^edjed ' (only it comes from precisely the opposite 
corner to the Greek or Roman Zephyr), and continu- 
ally invoked by sentimental bards to bring them news 
of imaginary loves or pleasing reminiscences. No 
wonder ; for most of these versifiers being themselves 
natives of the barren Hedjaz or the scorching Te- 
hama, perhaps inhabitants of Egypt and Syi'ia, and 
knowing little of Arabia, except what they have seen 
on the dreary Meccan pilgrim road, they naturally 
look back to with longing, and frequently record, 
whatever glimpses chance may have allowed them of 



JOURNEY TO BERETDAH 183 

the cooler and more fertile highlands of the centre, 
denominated by them Nedjed, in a general way, with 
their transient experience of its fresh and invigorat- 
ing climate, of its courteous men and sprightly maid- 
ens. 

" But when, nor is this seldom, the sweet smell of 
the aromatic thyme-like plants that here abound 
mixes with the light morning breeze and enhances its 
balmy influence, then indeed can one excuse the 
raptures of an Arab Ovid or Theocritus, and appre- 
ciate — at least I often did — tlieir yearnings after 
Nedjed, and all the praises they lavish on its memorj^ 

" Then said I to my companion, wliile the camels were 
hastening 
To bear us down the pass between Meneefah and Demar, 
' Enjoy while thou canst the sweets of the meadows of Ned- 
jed : 
With no such meadows and sweets shalt thou meet after 
this evening. 
Ah ! heaven's blessing on the scented gales of Nedjed, 
And its greensward and groves glittering from the spring 
shower, 
And thy dear friends, when thy lot was cast awhile in Ned- 
jed, 
Little hadsfc thou to complain of what the days brought 
thee ; 
Months flew past, they passed and we loerceived not, 

Nor when their moons were new, nor when they waned.' " 

For three days more they travelled forward over 
this undulating table-land, making from sixty to 
seventy miles a day. The view was extensive, but 
rather monotonous. There were no high mountains, 
no rivers, no lakes, no deep valleys ; but a constant 



184 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

repetition of stony uplands, sliallow and sandy 
hollows, and villages surrounded by belts of palm- 
groves, the extent and direction of which indicated 
the subterranean water-courses. 

On the tliird evening they reached Kowarah, the 
most southern station in Telal territory — a large 
village, lying in a wooded and well-watered hollow. 
Here they still found the order and security which 
that ruler had established, and maintained every- 
where throughout his dominions. Leaving the next 
morning, the 14:th of September, they crossed a few 
low hills, came to a sudden dip in the general level 
of the country, and then the extent of Southern 
Kaseem burst suddenly upon their view. 

" Now, for the first time," says Palgrave, " we 
could in some measure appreciate the strength of the 
Wahabee in his mastery over such a land. Before 
us to the utmost horizon stretched an immense plain, 
studded with towns and villages, towers and groves, 
all steeped in the dazzling noon, and announcing 
everywhere life, opulence, and activity. The aver- 
age breadth of this populous district is about sixty 
miles, its length twice as much, or more; it lies full 
two hundred feet below the level of the uplands, 
which here break off like a wall. Fifty or more 
good-sized villages and four or five large towns form 
the commercial and agricultural centres of the prov- 
ince, and its surface is moreover thickly strewn with 
smaller hamlets, isolated wells, and gardens, and 
traversed by a net-work of tracks in every direction. 
Here begin, and hence extend to Djebel Toweyk 
itself, the series of high watch-towers that afford the 



JOURNEY TO BEBETDAE 185 

inhabitants a means, denied otherwise by their level 
flats, of discerning from afar the approach of foray 
or invasion, and thus preparing for resistance. For 
while no part of Central Arabia has an older or a 
better established title to civilization or wealth, no 
part also has been the starting-point and theatre of 
so many wars, or witnessed the gathering of such 
numerous armies. 

"We halted for a moment on the verge of the up- 
lands to enjoy the magnificent prospect before us. 
Below lay the wide plain ; at a few miles' distance we 
saw the thick palm-groves of 'Eyoon, and what little 
of its towers and citadel the dense foliage permitted 
to the eye. Far off on our right, that is, to the west, 
a large dark patch marked the tillage and plantations 
which girdle the town of Rass ; other villages and 
hamlets, too, were thickly scattered over the landscape. 
All along the ridge where we stood, and visible at 
various distances down the level, rose the tall, circular 
watch-towers of Kaseem. But immediately before 
us stood a more remarkable monument, one that 
fixed the attention and wonder even of our Arab com- 
panions themselves. 

" For hardly had we descended the narrow path 
where it winds from ledge to ledge down to the bot- 
tom, when we saw before us several huge stones, like 
enormous bowlders, placed endways perpendicularly 
on the soil, while some of them yet upheld similar 
masses laid transversely over their summit. They 
were arranged in a curve, once forming part, it would 
appear, of a large circle, and many other like frag- 
ments lay rolled on the ground at a moderate dis- 
13 



186 THA VEL8 IN ARABIA 

tance ; the niitnber of those still upright was, to speak 
b}^ memory, eight or nine. Two, at about ten or 
twelve feet apart one from the other, and resembling 
huge gate-posts, yet bore their horizontal lintel, a 
long block laid across them ; a few were deprived of 
their upper traverse, the rest supported each its head- 
piece in defiance of time and of the more destructive 
efforts of man. So nicely balanced did one of these 
cross-bars appear that, in hope it might prove a rock- 
ing-stone, I guided my camel right under it, and then 
stretching up my riding-stick at arm's-length could 
just manage to touch and push it, but it did not stir. 
Meanwhile the respective heights of camel, rider, and 
stick taken together would place the stone in ques- 
tion full fifteen feet from the ground. 

" These blocks seem, by their quality, to have 
been hewn from the neighboring limestone cliff, and 
roughly shaped, but present no further trace of art, 
no groove or cavity of sacrificial import, nmch less 
anything intended for figure or ornament. The peo- 
ple of the countrj^ attribute their erection to Darim, 
and by his own hands, too, seeing that he was a giant ; 
perhaps, also, for some magical ceremony, since he 
was a magician. Pointing toward Rass, our compan- 
ions affirmed that a second and similar stone circle, 
also of gigantic dimensions, existed there ; and, lastlj^, 
they mentioned a third toward the southwest, that is, 
on the confines of Hedjaz. 

" Here, as in most parts of Arabia, the staple ar- 
ticle of cultivation is the date-palm. Of this tree 
there are, however, many widely differing species, 
and Kaseem can boast of containing the best known 



JOURNEY TO BMBETDAB 187 

anywhere, the Khalas of Hasa alone excepted. The 
ripening season coincides with the latter half of 
August and the first of September, and we had thus 
an ample opportunity for testing the produce. Those 
who, like most Europeans at home, only know the 
date from the dried specimens of that fruit shown be- 
neath a label in shop-windows, can hardly imagine 
how delicious it is when eaten fresh and in Central 
Arabia. Nor is it, when newly gathered, heating, a 
defect inherent to the preserved fruit everywhere ; 
nor does its richness, however great, bring satiety : in 
short, it is an article of food alike pleasant and 
healthy. Its cheapness in its native land might as- 
tonish a Londoner. Enough of the very best dates 
from the Bereydah gardens to fill a large Arab hand- 
kerchief, about fifteen inches each way, almost to 
bursting, cost Barakat and myself the moderate sum 
of three farthings. We hung it up from the roof- 
beam of our apartment to preserve the luscious fruit 
from the ants, and it continued to drip molten sweet- 
ness into a sugary pool on the floor below for three 
days together, before we had demolished the con- 
tents, though it figured at every dinner and supper 
during that period. 

" We were soon under the outer walls of 'Eyoon, 
a good-sized town containing at least ten thousand 
inhabitants according to my rough computation. Its 
central site, at the very juncture of the great northern 
and western lines of communication, renders it im- 
portant, and for this reason it is carefully fortified, 
that is, for the country, and furnished with watch- 
towers much resembling manufactory chimneys in 



18S TRAVELS IK ARABIA 

size and shape, beside a massive and capacious cita- 
del. Mj readers maj anticipate analogous, though 
proportionate, features in most other towns and vil- 
lages of this province. 

" Between the town-walls and the sand-hills close 
by was a sheltered spot, where we took about four 
hours of sleep, till the waning moon rose. Then all 
were once more in movement, camels gnarling, men 
loading, and the doctor and his apprentice mounting 
their beasts, all for Berejdah. But that town was 
distant, and when day broke at last there was yet a 
long road to traverse. This now lay amid mounds 
and vallej^s, thick with the vegetation already de- 
scribed ; and somewhat after sunrise we took a full 
hour to pass the gardens and fields of Ghat, a strag- 
gling village, where a dozen wells supplied the valley 
with copious irrigation. On the adjoining hillocks — 
I may not call them heights — was continued the series 
of watch-towers, corresponding with others farther off 
that belonged to villages seen by glimpses in the land- 
scape ; I heard, but soon forgot, their names. 

"A march of ten or twelve hours had tired us, 
and the weather was oppressively close, no uncom- 
mon phenomenon in Kaseem, where, what between 
low sandy ground and a southerly latitude, the cli- 
mate is much more sultry than in Djebel Shomer, or 
the mountains of Toweyk. So that we were very 
glad when the ascent of a slight eminence discovered 
to our gaze the long-desired town of Bereydah, 
whose oval fortifications rose to view amid an open 
and cultivated plain. It was a view for Turner. 
An enormous watch-tower, near a hundred feet in 



JOURNEY TO BEBEYDAH 189 

height, a minaret of scarce inferior proportions, a mass 
of bastioned walls, such as we had not yet witnessed 
in Arabia, green groves around and tliickets of ithel, 
all under the dreamy glare of noon, offered a striking 
spectacle, far surpassing whatever I had anticipated, 
and announced populousness and wealth. We longed 
to enter those gates and walk those streets. But 
we had yet a delay to wear out. At about a league 
from the town our guide, Mubarek, led us off the main 
road to the riglit, up and down several little but 
steep sand-hills, and hot declivities, till about two in 
the afternoon, half-roasted with the sun, we reached, 
never so weary, his garden gate. 

" The morning was briglit, yet cool, when we got 
free of the maze of ithel and sand-slopes, and en- 
tered the lanes that traverse tlie garden circle round 
the town, in all quiet and security. But our ap- 
proach to Bereydah was destined to furnish us an 
unexpected and undesired surprise, though indeed 
less startling than that which discomposed our first 
arrival at Ha'yel. We had just passed a well near 
the angle of a garden wall, when we saw a man 
whose garb and appearance at once bespoke him for 
a muleteer of the north, watering a couple of mules 
at the pool hard by. Barakat and I stared with as- 
tonishment, and could hardly believe our eyes. For 
since the day we left Gaza for the southeastern desert 
we had never met with a like dress, nor with these 
animals ; and how, then, came they here ? But there 
was no mistaking either the man or the beasts, and 
as the muleteer raised his head to look at the passers^ 
by, he also started at our sight, and evidently rec- 



190 TRAVELS m ARABIA 

ognized in us something that took him unawares. 
But the riddle was soon solved. A few paces far- 
ther on, our way opened out on the great plain that 
lies immediately under the town walls to the north. 
This space was now covered with tents and thronged 
with men of foreign dress and bearing, mixed with 
Arabs of town and desert, women and children, talk- 
ing and quarrelling, buying and selling, going and 
coming ; everywhere baskets full of dates and vege- 
tables, platters bearing eggs and butter, milk and 
whey, meat hung on poles, bundles of firewood, etc., 
stood ranged in rows, horsemen and camel-men were 
riding about between groups seated round fires or 
reclining against their baggage ; in the midst of all 
this medley a gilt ball surmounted a large white 
pavilion of a make that I had not seen since last I 
left India, some eleven years before, and numerous 
smaller tents of striped cloth, and certainly not of 
Arab fashion, clustered around ; a lively scene, es- 
pecially of a clear morning, but requiring some ex- 
planation from its exotic and non-Arab character. 
These tents belonged to the great caravan of Persian 
pilgrims, on their return from Medina to Meshid 
'Alee by the road of Kaseem, and hence all this un- 
usual concourse and bustle. 

" Passing a little on to the east, we left the 
crowded encampment on one side and turned to en- 
ter the city gates. Here, and this is generally the 
case in the larger Arab towns of old date, the for- 
tifications surround houses alone, and the gardens 
all lie without, sometimes defended — at 'Oneyzah, 
for example — by a second outer girdle of walls and 




AN ABAB ENCAMPMENT. 



JOUBITET TO BERETDAH 191 

towers, but sotnetimes, as at Bereydah, devoid of 
any mural protection. The town itself is composed 
exclusively of streets, houses, and market-places, and 
bears in consequence a more regular appearance 
than the recent and village -like arrangements of 
the Djowf and even of Ila'yel. We passed a few 
streets, tolerably large but crooked, and then made 
the camels kneel down in a little square or public 
place, where I remained seated by them on the bag- 
gage, switch in hand, like an ordinary Arab travel- 
ler, and Barakat with Mubarek went in search of 
lodgings. 

" Yery long did the half-hour seem to me during 
which I had thus to mount guard till my companions 
returned from their quest ; the streets were full of 
people, and a disagreeable crowd of the lower sort 
was every moment collecting round myself and my 
camels, with all the inquisitiveness of the idle and 
vulgar in every land. At last my companions came 
back to say that they had found what they wanted ; 
a kick or two brought the camels on their legs again, 
and we moved off to our new quarters. 

" The house in question was hardly more than five 
minutes' walk from the north gate, and at about an 
equal distance only from the great market-place on 
the other side. Its position was therefore good. It 
possessed two large rooms on the ground story, and 
three smaller, besides a spacious court-yard, sur- 
rounded by high walls. A winding stair of irregular 
steps and badly lighted, like all in the IsTedjed, led 
up to an extent of flat roof, gii't round by a parapet 
six feet high, and divided into two compartments by 



192 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

a cross-wall, thus affording a verj^ tolerable place for 
occupation morning and evening, at the hours when 
the side-walls might 3^et project enough shade to 
slielter those seated alongside of tliem, besides an ex- 
cellent sleeping place for night." 

The day after their arrival the}' made a call upon 
Mohanna, the ruler of Bereydah, in order to ask his 
assistance in proceeding to Nedjed. But he was too 
busy in devising means to exact more tribute-money 
from the Persian pilgrims to give any notice to two 
persons whose dress and appearance gave no token 
of wealth. This neglect afterward proved to be a 
piece of good fortune. They then spent several days 
in a vain attempt to find camels and guides ; no one 
was willing to undertake the service. The central 
province of Nedjed, the genuine Wahabee country, is 
to the rest of Arabia a sort of lion's den, into which 
few venture and yet fewer return. An elderly man 
of Bereydah, of whom Palgrave demanded informa- 
tion, simply replied, " It is Xedjed ; he who enters 
it does not come out again," and this is almost liter- 
ally true. Its mountains, once the fastnesses of rob- 
bers and assassins, are at the present day equally, or 
even more, foi-midable as the stronghold of fanatics 
who consider everyone save themselv^es an infidel or 
a heretic, and who regard the slaughter of an infidel 
or a heretic as a duty, at least a merit. In addition 
to this general cause of anticipating a worse than 
cold reception in Nedjed, wars and bloodshed, ag- 
gression and tyrannj^, have heightened the original 
antipathy of the surrounding population into special 
and definite resentment for wrongs i-eceived, perhaps 



JOURNEY TO BEBEYDAH 193 

inflicted, till Nedjed has become for all but her born 
sons doubly dangerous and doubl}' hateful. 

Another circumstance, which seemed to make 
Palgrave's situation more difficult, although it was 
equally fortunate in the end, was a rebellion which 
had broken out in the neighboring cit^^ of 'Oneyzah, 
lieaded by Zamil, a native chief. The town was at 
that time besieged by the Wahabees, yet held out 
gallantly, and the sympathy of the people of all 
Kaseem was so strongl}' on the side of Zamil, that 
only the presence of the Wahabee troops in Berej^- 
dah kept that city, also, from revolt. The rebels had 
sent deputations to Mecca and also to Djebel Shomer 
for assistance, and there seemed to be some possibil- 
ity of a general Central Arabian revolt against the 
liated Wahabee supremacy. It seemed thus to be a 
most unpropitions time for penetrating the strong- 
hold of ISTedjed. Palgrave did not so much fear the 
suspicion of being a European, as that of being an 
Ottoman spy. His first need, however, was the 
means of going forward safely. He thus described 
how an apparent chance made him acquainted with 
the man to whom almost the entire success of his 
later travels was due : 

" It was the sixth day after our ari-ival, and the 
22d of September, when about noon I was sitting 
alone and rather melancholy, and trying to beguile 
the time with reading the incomparable Divan of 
Ebn-el-Farid, the favorite companion of my travels. 
Barakat had at my request betaken himself out of 
doors, less in hopes of success than to ' go to and fro 
in the earth and walk up and down in it ; ' nor did 



194 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

I now dare to expect that he would return anj^ wiser 
than he had set forth. When lo ! after a long two 
hours' absence he canie in with cheerful face, index 
of good tidings. 

" Good, indeed, they were, none better. Tlieir 
bearer said, that after roaming awhile to no purport 
through the streets and market-place, he had be- 
thought him of a visit to the Persian camp. There, 
while straying among the tents, ' like a washerwom- 
an's dog,' as a Hindoo would say, he noticed somewhat 
aloof from the crowd a small group of pilgrims 
seated near tlieir baggage on the sand, while curls of 
smoke going up from amid the circle indicated the 
presence of a fire, which at that time of day could 
be for nothing else than coffee. Civilized though 
Barakat undoubtedly was, he was yet by blood and 
heart an Arab, and for an Arab to see coffee making 
and not to put himself in the way of getting a share 
would be an act of self-restraint totally unheard of. 
So he approached the group, and was of course in- 
vited to sit down and drink. The party consisted of 
two wealthy Persians, accompanied by three or four 
of that class of men, half-servants, half-companions, 
who often hook on to travellers at Bagdad or its 
neighborhood, besides a mulatto of Arabo-negrine 
origin, and his master, this last being the leader of 
the band, and the giver of the aromatic entertain- 
ment. 

" Barakat's whole attention was at once engrossed 
by this personage. A remarkably handsome face, of 
a type evidently not belonging to the Arab peninsula, 
long hair curling down to the shoulders, an over-dress 



JOURNEY TO BEREYDAH 195 

of fine spun silk, somewhat soiled by travel, a colored 
handkerchief of Syrian mannfactnre on the head, a 
manner and look indicating an education mnch supe- 
rior to that ordinary in his class and occupation, a 
camel-driver's, were peculiarities sufficient of them, 
selves to attract notice, and give rise to conjecture. 
But when these went along with a welcome and a 
salute in the forms and tone of Damascus or Aleppo, 
and a ready flow of that superabundant and over- 
charged politeness for which the Syrian subjects of 
the Turkish empire are renowned, Barakat could no 
longer doubt that he had a fellow-countryman, and 
one, too, of some note, before him. 

" Such was in fact the case. Aboo-'Eysa, to give 
him the name b}' which he was commonly known in 
these parts, though in his own country he bears an- 
other denomination, was a native of Aleppo, and son 
of a not nnimportant individual in that fair city. 
His education, and the circumstances of his early 
youth, had rendered him equally conversant with 
townsmen and herdsmen, with citizens and Bedouins, 
with Arabs and Europeans. By lineal descent he was 
a Bedouin, since his grandfather belonged to the Me- 
jadimah, who are themselves an offshoot of the Benoo- 
Khalid ; but in habits, thoughts, and manners he was 
a very son of Aleppo, where he had passed the greater 
part of his boyhood and youth. When about twenty- 
five years of age he became involved, culpably or 
not, in the great conspiracy against the Turkish gov- 
ernment which broke out in the Aleppine insurrec- 
tion of 1852. Like many others he was compelled to 
anticipate consequences by a prompt flight. 



196 TBAYELS IN ARABIA 

" After trying commerce in order to retrieve his 
ruined fortunes, but with ill success, Aboo-'Eysa en- 
gaged in the horse trade between Persia and Arabia, 
and also failed. He then went to Ri'ad, the capital 
of Nedjed, and by presents to Feysul, the chief, ob- 
tained a post as guide to the Persian caravans of pil- 
grims to Mecca, across Arabia. At this time he had 
followed that career for three years, and had amassed 
considerable wealth, for his politeness, easy manners, 
and strict probity made him popular with the pil- 
grims. 

" He recognized a fellow-countryman in Barakat," 
says Palgrave, " received him with marked politeness, 
and carefully informed himself of our whence and 
whither. Barakat, overjoyed to find at last a kind 
of opening after difficulties that had appeared to ob- 
struct all further progress, made no delay in inquir- 
ing whether he would undertake our guidance to 
Ri'ad. Aboo-'Eysa replied that he was just on the 
point of separating from his friends the Persians, 
whose departure would leave camels enough and to 
spare at his disposition, and that so far there was no 
hindrance to the proposal. As for the "VVahabees 
and their unwillingness to admit strangers within 
their limits, he stated himself to be M'ell known to 
them, and that in his company we should have noth- 
ing to fear from their suspicious criticism." 

The agreement was made at once, and the travel- 
lers now only waited until their new companion 
should have made some final arrangements with the 
Persian pilgrims, who were to travel directly from 
Bereydah to Bagdad. In the meantime, the former 



JOURNEY TO BERETDAH 197 

took advantage of the delay to see as much as pos- 
sible of the place, and even to make excursions in tlie 
neighborhood, especially in the direction of the be- 
leaguered city of 'Oneyzah. Falgrave's description of 
the place shows that it possesses the same general 
features as the other Arabian towns, yet may be 
quoted for its intrinsic picturesqueness : 

" Barakat and myself have made our morning 
household purchases at the fair, and the sun being 
now an hour or more above the horizon, we think it 
time to visit the market-place of the town, which 
would hardly be open sooner. We re-enter the city 
gate, and pass on our way by our house dooi*, where 
we leave our bundle of eatables, and regain the high 
street of Bereydah. Before long we reach a high 
arch across the road ; this gate divides the market 
from the rest of the quarter. We enter. First of all 
we see a long range of butchers' shops on either side, 
thick hung with flesh of sheep and camel, and very 
dirtily kept. Were not the air pure and the climate 
healthy, the plague would assuredly be endemic 
here ; but in Arabia no special harm seems to fol- 
low. We hasten on, and next pass a series of cloth 
and linen warehouses, stocked partly with home 
manufacture, but more imported ; Bagdad cloaks 
and head-gear, for instance, Syrian shawls and Egyp- 
tian slippers. Here markets follow the law general 
througliout the East, that all sliops or stores of the 
same description should be clustered together, a sys- 
tem whose advantages on the whole outweigh its in- 
conveniences, at least for small towns like these. In 
the large cities and capitals of Europe greater extent 



198 TRAVELS m ARABIA 

of locality requires evidently a different method of 
arrangement ; it might be awkward for the inhabi- 
tants of Hyde Park were no hatters to be found 
nearer than the Tower. But what is Bereydah com- 
pared even with a second-rate European city ? How- 
ever, in a crowd, it yields to none ; the streets at 
this time of the day are thronged to choking, and 
to make matters worse, a huge, splay-footed camel 
comes every now and then, heaving from side to side 
like a lubber-rowed boat, with a long beam on his 
back menacing the heads of those in the way, or 
with two enormous loads of firewood, each as large 
as himself, sweeping the road before him of men, 
women, and children, while the driver, high-perched 
on the hump, regards such trifles with the most su- 
preme indifference, so long as he brushes his path 
open. Sometimes there is a whole stiing of these 
beasts, the head-rope of each tied to the crupper of 
his precursor, very uncomfortable passengers when 
met with at a narrow turning. 

" Through such obstacles we have found or made 
our way, and are now amid leather and shoemakers' 
shops, then among coppersmiths and ironsmiths, whose 
united clang might waken the dead or kill the living, 
till at last we emerge on the central town-square, not 
a bad one either, nor very irregular, considering that 
it is in Kaseem. 

The vegetable and fruit market is very extensive, 
and kept almost exclusivelj^ by women ; so are also 
the shops for grocery and spices. ISTor do the fair 
sex of Bereydah seem a whit inferior to their rougher 
partners in knowledge of business and thrifty dili- 



JOUBNEY TO BEREYDAB 199 

gence, ' Close - handedness beseems a woman no 
less than generosity a man,' says an Arab poet, un- 
consciously coinciding with Lance of Yeroria in his 
comments on the catalogue of his fnture spouse's 
' conditions.' 

" The whole town has an aspect of old but de- 
clining prosperity. There are few new houses, but 
many falling into ruin. The faces, too, of most we 
meet are serious, and their voices in an undertone. 
Silk dresses are prohibited by the dominant faction, 
and tobacco can only be smoked within doors, and 
by sliealth. Every now and then zealous Wahabee 
missionaries from Ri'ad pay a visit of reform and 
preaching to unwilling auditors, and disobedience to 
the customs of the Ned jean sect is noticed and pun- 
ished, often severely. 

" Enough of the town ; the streets are narrow, hot, 
and dusty ; the day, too, advances ; but the gardens 
are yet cool. So we dash at a venture through a 
labyrinth of by-ways and cross- ways till we find our- 
selves in the wide street that, like a boulevard in 
France, runs immediately along but inside the walls. 

"We stroll about in the shade, hide ourselves 
amid the high maize to smoke a quiet pipe unob- 
served by prying Kedjean eyes, and then walk on 
till at some distance we come under a high ridge of 
sand. 

" While on one of our suburban excursions we 
took the direction of 'Oneyzah, but found it utterly 
impossible to arrive within its walls ; so we con- 
tented ourselves with an outside and distant view of 
this large and populous town ; the number of its 



200 TBAVEL8 IN ARABIA 

lionses, and their size, judging by the overtopping 
summits that marked out tlie dwelling of Zamil and 
his family, far surpassed anything in Bereydah. 
The outer fortifications are enormously thick, and 
the girdle of palm-trees between them and the town 
affords a considerable additional defence to the latter. 
For all I could see there is little stonework in the 
construction ; they appear almost exclusively of un- 
baked bricks ; yet even so they are formidable de- 
fences for Arabia. The whole country around, and 
wdiatever lay northeast toward Bereydah, v/as more 
or less ravaged by the war; and we were blamed by 
our friends as very rash in having ventured thus far ; 
in fact, it was a mere chance that we did not fall in 
with skirmishers or plunderers ; and in such a case 
the military discipline of Kaseem would hardly have 
insured our safety. 

" When all was ready for the long-expected de- 
parture, it w\as definitely fixed for the 3d of October, 
a Friday, I think, at nightfall. Since our first inter- 
view Barakat and myself had not again presented 
ourselves before Mohanna, except in chance meet- 
ings, accompanied by distant salutations in the street 
or market-place ; and we did not see any need for 
paying him a special farewell call. Indeed, after 
learning who and what he was, we did our best not 
to draw his gray eye on us, and thereby escaped some 
additional trouble and surplus duties to pay, nor did 
any one mention us to him. At star-rise we bade 
our host and householder Ahmed a final adieu, and 
left the town with Aboo-'Eysa for our guide." 



CHAPTER XIIL 

PALGKAVE'S TRAVELS— JOURNEY TO RI'AD THE CAPI- 
TAL OP NEDJED 

TWO roads lay before us. The shorter, and for 
that reason the more frequented of the two, led 
soutlieast-by-east through Woshem and Wady Ha- 
neefah to Ri'ad. But this track passed through a 
district often visited at the present moment by the 
troops of 'Oneyzah and their allies, and hence our 
companions, not over-courageous for the most, were 
afraid to follow it. Another road, much more cir- 
cuitous, but farther removed from the scene of mili- 
tary operations, led northeast to Zulphah, and thence 
entered the province of Sedeyr, which it traversed 
in a southeasterly or southern direction, and thus 
reached the 'Aared. Our council of war resolved on 
the latter itinerary, nor did we ourselves regret a 
roundabout which pi'omised to procure us the sight 
of much that we might scarcely have otherwise an 
opportunity of visiting. Barakat and I were mount- 
ed on two excellent dromedaries of Aboo-'Eysa's 
stud ; the Na'ib * was on a lovely gray she camel with 

* "The Na'ib " was a Persian official, despatched by the Per- 
sian pilgrims to lay before Feysiil, the ruler of Nedjed, a state- 
ment of the extortions to which they had been compelled to sub- 
mit at Bereydah. He was thus equally under Aboo-'Eysa's 
14 



202 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

a handsome saddle, crimson and gold. The Meccans 
shared between them a long-backed black beast ; the 
rest were also mounted on camels or dromedaries, 
since the road before ns was impracticable for horses, 
at any rate at this time of year. 

" Onr road lay in Kaseem, whose highlands we 
rejoined once more, and traversed till sunset. The 
view was very beautiful from its extent and variety 
of ups and downs, in broad, grassy hills ; little groups 
of trees stood in scattered detachments around ; and 
had a river, that desideratum of Arabia, been in sight, 
one might almost have fancied one's self in the coun- 
try bordering the Lower Rhine for some part of its 
course ; readers may suppose, too, that there was 
less verdure here than in the European parallel — my 
comparison bears only on the general turn of the 
view. N^o river exists nearer Kaseem than Shatt 
(Euphrates), some hundred leagues off, and our eyes 
had been too long accustomed to the deceptive pools 
of the mirage to associate with them even a passing 
idea of aught save drought and heat. 

" We journeyed on till dark, and then reached cer- 
tain hillocks of a different character from the hard 
ground lately under our feet. Here began the ]S^e- 
food, whose course from the southwest to northeast, 
and then north, parts between Kaseem, "VVoshem, and 
Sedeyr. I have already said something of these 
sandy inlets when describing that which we crossed 
three months ago between Djowf and Sliomer. 

charge, and his company was rather an advantage to Palgrave, 
since his mission was anotlier cause of removing — or, at least, 
lessening — the prominence of the latter, after his arrival at Ri'ad. 



JOURNEY TO MI 'AD 203 

" On the verge of the desert strip we now halted a 
little to eat a liastj supper, and to drink — the Arabs 
coffee and the Persians tea. But journeying in 
these sands, under the heat of the day, is alike kill- 
ing to man and beast, and therefore Aboo-'Ejsa had 
resolved that we should cross the greater portion 
under favor of the cooler hours of night. 

"All night, a weary night, we waded up and down 
through waves of sand, in which the camels often 
sank up to their knees, and their riders were obliged 
to alight and help them on. 

"JSTowbyfull daylight appeared the true charac- 
ter of the region which we were traversing ; its as- 
pect resembled the Nefood north of Djebel Shomer, 
but the undulations were here higher and deeper, 
and the sand itself lighter and less stable. In most 
spots neither shrub nor blade of grass could fix its 
root, in others a scanty vegetation struggled through, 
but no trace of man anywhere. The camels ploughed 
slowly on ; the Persians, unaccustomed to such 
scenes, were downcast and silent ; all were tired, and 
no wonder. At last, a little before noon, and just 
as the sun's heat was becoming intolerable, we 
reached the verge of an immense crater like hollow, 
certainly three or four miles in circumference, where 
the sand-billows receded on every side, and left in the 
midst a pit seven or eight hundred feet in depth, at 
whose base we could discern a white gleam of lime- 
stone rock, and a small group of houses, trees, and 
gardens, thus capriciously isolated in the very heart 
of the desert. 

" This was the little village and oasis of Wasit, or 



204 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

' the intermediary,' so called because a central point 
between the three provinces of Kaseem, Sedeyr, and 
Woshem, yet belonging to none of them. Nor is it 
often visited by wayfarers, as we learned from the 
inhabitants, men simple and half-savage, from their 
little intercourse with the outer world, and unac- 
quainted even with the common forms of Islamitic 
prayer, though dwelling in the midst of the Waha- 
bee dominions. 

" A long, winding descent brought us to the bot- 
tom of the valley, where on our arrival men and 
boys came out to stare at the Persians, and by ex- 
acting double prices for fruit and camel's milk 
proved themselves not altogether such fools as they 
looked. For us, regarded as Arabs, we enjoyed their 
hospitality — it was necessarilj' a limited one — gratis ; 
whereupon the Na'ib grew jealous, and declaimed 
against the Arabs as ' infidels,' for not treating with 
suitable generosity pilgrims like themselves return- 
ing from the ' house of God.' 

" To get out of this pit was no easy matter \facilis 
descensus, etc., thought I ; no ascending path showed 
itself in the required direction, and every one tried 
to push up his floundering beast where the sand ap- 
peared at a manageable slope, and firm to the foot- 
ins:. Camels and men fell and rolled back down the 
declivity, till some of the party shed tears of vexa- 
tion, and others, more successful, laughed at the an- 
noyance of their companions. Aboo-'Eysa ran about 
from one to the other, attempting to direct and keep 
them together, till finally, as Heaven willed, we 
reached the upper rim to the north. 



JOTTRNEY TO BI'AD 205 

" Before ns lay M'hat seemed a storm-driven sea of 
fire in the red light of afternoon, and throngh it we 
wound onr way, till about an hour before sunset we 
fell in with a sort of track or furrow. ISText opened 
out on our road a long descent, at whose extreme 
base we discei-ned the important and commercial town 
of Zulphah. Beyond it rose the wall-like steeps of 
Djebel Toweyk, so often heard of, and now seen 
close at hand. Needless to say how joyfully we wel- 
comed the first view of that strange ridge, the heart 
and central knot of Arabia, beyond which whatever 
lay might almost be reckoned as a return journey. 

" We had now, in fact, crossed the ISTefood, and 
had at our feet the great valley which constitutes the 
main line of communication between Nedjed and the 
north, reaching even to the Tigris and Bagdad. 

" We passed the whole length of the town of Zul- 
phah, several streets of which had been lately swept 
away by the winter torrents that pour at times their 
short-lived fury down this valley. Before us to the 
southeast stretched the long hollow ; on our right 
was the Nefood, on our left Djebel Toweyk and the 
province of Sedeyr. The mountain air blew cool, 
and this day's journey was a far pleasanter one than 
its predecessor. We continued our march down the 
valley till the afternoon, when we turned aside into 
a narrow gorge running up at a sliarp angle to the 
northeast, and thus entered between the heights of 
Djebel Toweyk itself. 

" This mountain essentially constitutes Nedjed. It 
is a wide and flat chain, or rather plateau, whose 
general form is that of a huge crescent. If I may 



206 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

be permitted liei-e to give my rongli guess regarding 
the elevation of the main plateau, a guess grounded 
partly on the vegetation, climate, and similar local 
features, partly on an approximate estimate of the 
ascent itself, and of the subsequent descent on tlie 
other or sea side, I should say that it varies from a 
height of one to two thousand feet above the sur- 
rounding level of the peninsula, and may thus be 
about three thousand feet at most above the sea. Its 
loftiest ledges occur in the Sedeyr district, where we 
shall pass them before long ; the centre and the 
southwesterly arm is certainly lower. Djebel Toweyk 
is the middle knot of Arabia, its Caucasus, so to say ; 
and is still, as it has often been in former times, the 
turning-point of the whole, or almost the whole, 
peninsula in a political and national bearing. 

" The climate of the northern part of Djebel 
Toweyk, whether platean or valley, coincident with 
the province of Sedeyr, is perhaps one of the health- 
iest in the world ; an exception might be made in 
favor of Djebel Shomer alone. The above-named 
districts resemble each other closely in dryness of 
atmosphere, and the inhabitants of Sedeyr, like 
those of Shomer, are remarkable for their ruddy com- 
plexion and well-developed stature. But when we 
approach the centre of the mountain crescent, where 
its whole level lowers, while the more southerly lati- 
tude brings it nearer to the prevailing influences of 
the tropical zone, the air becomes damper and more 
relaxing, and a less salubrious climate pictures itself 
in the sallower faces and slender make of its deni- 
izens, 



JOURNEY TO RI'AD 207 

" Two days later we attained tlie great plateau, of 
which I have a few pages since given an anticipated 
description. 

"About noon we halted in a brushwood-covered 
plain to light fire and prepare coffee. After which 
we pursued our easterly way, still a little to the 
north, now and then meeting with travellers or 
peasants ; but a European would find these roads very 
lonely in comparison with those of his own country. 
All the more did I admire the perfect submission and 
strict police enforced by the central government, so 
that even a casual robbery is very rare in the prov- 
inces, and highwaymen are totally out of the ques- 
tion. At last, near the same hour of afternoon that 
had brought us the day before to Ghat, we came in 
sight of Mejmaa', formerly capital of the province, 
and still a place of considerable importance, with a 
population, to judge by appearances and hearsay, of 
between ten and twelve thousand souls. 

" We were up early next morning, for the night 
air was brisk, and a few hours of sleep had sufficed us. 

"After sunrise we came on a phenomenon of a 
nature, I believe, without a second or a parallel in 
Central Arabia, yet withal most welcome, namely, a 
tolerably large source of running water, forming a 
wide and deepish stream, with grassy banks, and 
frogs croaking in the herbage. "We opened our eyes 
in amazement ; it was the first of the kind that we 
had beheld since leaving the valley of Djowf. But 
though a living, it is a short-lived rivulet, reaching 
only four or five hours' distance to Djelajil, where it 
is lost amid the plantations of the suburbs. 



208 TBAYELS IN ABABIA 

" We had not long traversed the Meteyr encamp- 
ment, when we came in view of the walls of Towejm, 
a large town, containing between twelve and iifteen 
thousand inhabitants, according to the computation 
here in use, and which I follow for want of better. 
The houses are here built compactly, of two stories 
in general, sometimes three ; the lower rooms are 
often fifteen or sixteen feet high, and the upper ten 
or twelve ; while the roof itself is frequently sur- 
rounded by a blind wall of six feet or more, till the 
whole attains a fair altitude, and is not altogether 
unimposing. 

" Early next day, at a short distance from Toweym, 
we passed another large village with battlemented 
walls, and on the opposite side of the road a square 
castle, looking very mediaeval ; this was Hafr. A 
couple of hours further on we reached Thomeyr, a 
straggling townlet, more abounding in broken walls 
than houses ; close by was a tall white rock, crowned 
by the picturesque remains of an old outwork or fort, 
overlooking the place. Here our party halted for 
breakfast in the shadow of the ruins. Barakat and 
myself determined to try our fortune in the village 
itself ; no guards appeared at its open gate ; we 
entered unchallenged, and roamed through silent 
lanes and heaps of rubbish, vainly seeking news of 
milk and dates in this city of the dead. At last we 
met a meagre townsman, in look and apparel the 
apothecary of Komeo ; and of him, not without mis- 
givings of heart, we inquired where aught eatable 
could be had for love or money. He apologized, 
though there was scarce need of that, for not having 



JOURNEY TO HI 'AD 209 

any such article at his disposal ; ' but,' added he, 'in 
snch and such a house there will certainly be some- 
thing good,' and thitherward he preceded us in our 
search. We found indeed a large dwelling, but the 
door was shut ; we knocked to no purpose : nobody 
at home. 

" Our man now set us a bolder example, and we 
altogether scrambled through a breach in the mud 
wall, and found ourselves amid empty rooms and a 
desolate court-yard. ' Everybody is out in the fields, 
women only excepted,' said our guide, and we sepa- 
rated, no better off than before. Despairing of the 
village commissariat, we climbed a turret on the 
outer walls, and looked round. Now we saw at 
some distance a beautiful palm-grove, where we con- 
cluded that dates could not be wanting, and off we 
set for it across the stubble fields. But on arrivino- 
we found our paradise surrounded by high walls, and 
no gate discoverable. While thus we stood without, 
like Milton's fiend at Eden, but unable, like him, ' by 
one high bound to overleap all bound,' up came a 
handsome Solibah lad, all in rags, half-walking, half- 
dancing, in the devil-may-care way of his tribe. 
' Can you tell us which is the way in ? ' was our first 
question, pointing to the garden before us ; and, 
' Shall I sing you a song ? ' was his first answer, ' We 
don't want your songs, but dates ; how are we to get 
at them ? ' we replied. ' Or shall I perform you a 
dance ? ' answered the grinning young scoundrel, and 
forthwith began an Arabian polka-step, laughing all 
the while at our undisguised impatience. At last he 
condescended to show ijs the way, but no other than 



210 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

what befitted an orchard-robbing boy, like liimself, 
for it lay a little farther off, right over the wall, 
which he scaled with practised ingenuity, and helped 
us to follow. So we did, though perhaps with hon- 
ester intentions, and, once within, stood amid trees, 
shade, and water. The 'tender juvenile' then set 
np a shout, and soon a man appeared, ' old Adam's 
likeness set to dress this garden,' save that he was 
not old but young, as Adam might himself have been 
while yet in Eden. We were somewhat afraid of a 
surly reception, too well merited by our very equivo- 
cal introduction ; but the gardener was better-tem- 
pered than many of his caste, and after saluting us 
very politely, offered his services at our disposal. 
We then proposed to purchase a stock of dates for 
our onward way, whereon the gardener conducted us 
to an outhouse where heaps of three or four kinds of 
this fruit, red and yellow, round or long, lay piled 
up, and bade us choose. At his recommendation we 
filled a large cloth, which we had brought with us for 
the purpose, with excellent ruddy dates, and gave in 
return a small piece of money, welcome here as else- 
where. We then took leave and returned, but this 
time through the garden gate, to the stubble fields, 
and passing under the broken walls of the village, 
reached our companions, who had become anxious at 
our absence." 

For three days longer the travellers journeyed 
southward, through the valleys branching out from 
Djebel Toweyk, encamping for the night near some 
of the small towns. " In the early gray of the fourth 
morning," says Palgrave, " we passed close under the 



JOURNEY TO BI'AD 211 

plantations of Kowdah down the valle}', now diy and 
still, once overflowed with the best blood of Arabia, 
and through the narrow and high-walled pass which 
gives entrance to the great strongholds of the land. 
The sun rose and lighted up to our view wild preci- 
pices on either side, with a tangled mass of broken 
rock and brushwood below, while coveys of partridges 
started up at our feet, and deer scampered away by 
the gorges to right or left, or a cloud of dust an- 
nounced the approach of peasant bands or horsemen 
going to and fro, and gardens or hamlets gleamed 
through side openings or stood niched in the bulging 
passes of the Wady itself, till before noon we arrived 
at the little hamlet of Malka, or ' the junction.' 

" Its name is derived from its position. Here the 
valley divides in form of a Y, sending off two 
branches — one southerly to Derey'eeyah, the other 
southeast-by-east through the centre of the province, 
and communicating with the actual capital, Ri'ad. 

" Aboo-'Eysa had meditated bringing us on that 
very evening to Ri'ad. But eight good leagues re- 
mained from Malka to the capital ; and when the 
Na'ib had terminated his cosmetic operations, the 
easterly turning shadows left us no hope of attaining 
Ri'ad before nightfall. However, we resumed our 
march, and took the arm of the valley leading to 
Derey'eeyah ; but before reaching it we once more 
quitted the Wady, and followed a shorter path by 
the highlands to the left. Our way was next crossed 
by a long range of towers, built by Ibraheem Pasha, 
as outposts for the defence of this important position. 
Within their line stood the lonely walls of a large, 



212 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

square barrack ; the towers were what we sometimes 
call Martello — short, large, and round. 

" The level rays of the setting sun now streamed 
across the plain, and we came on the ruins of Derey'- 
eeyah, filling up the whole breadth of the valley be- 
neath. The palace walls, of unbaked brick, like the 
rest, rose close under the left or northern edge, but 
unroofed and tenantless ; a little lower down a wide 
extent of fragments showed where the immense 
mosque had been, and hard by, the market-place ; a 
tower on an isolated height was, I suppose, the orig- 
inal dwelling-place of the Sa'ood family, while yet 
mere local chieftains, before growing greatness trans- 
ferred them to their imperial palace. The outer for- 
tifications remained almost uninjured for mucli of 
their extent, with turrets and bastions reddening in 
the western light ; in other places the Egyptian artil- 
lery, or the process of years, had levelled them with 
the earth ; within the town many houses were yet 
standing, but uninhabited, and the lines of the streets 
from gate to gate were distinct as in a ground plan. 
From the great size of the town (for it is full half a 
mile in length, and not much less in breadth), and 
from the close packing of the houses, I should esti- 
mate its capacity at above forty thousand indwellers. 
The gardens lie without, and still ' living waved 
where man had ceased to live,' in full beauty and lux- 
uriance, a deep green ring around the gray ruins. 
For although the ISTedjeans, holding it for an ill omen 
to rebuild and reinhabit a town so fatally over- 
thrown, have transplanted the seat of government, and 
with it the bulk of the city population, to Bi'ad, they 



JOUBNET TO BI'AD 213 

have not deemed it equally necessary to abandon the 
rich plantations and well-watered fields belonging to 
the old capital ; and thus a small colony of gardeners 
in scattered huts and village dwellings close under the 
walls protract the blighted existence of Derey'eeyah. 

" While from our commanding elevation we gazed 
thoughtfully on this scene, so full of remembrances, 
the sun set, and darkness grew on. We naturally 
proposed a halt, but Aboo-'Eysa turned a deaf ear, 
and affirmed that a garden belonging to 'Abd-er- 
Rahman, already mentioned as grandson of the first 
Wahabee, was but a little farther before us, and bet- 
ter adapted to our night's rest than the ruins. In 
truth, three hours of brisk travelling yet intervened 
between Derey'eeyah and the place in question ; but 
our guide was unwilling to enter Derey'eeyah in com- 
pany of Persians and Syrians, Shiya'ees and Chris- 
tians ; and this he afterward confessed to me. For, 
whether from one of those curious local influences 
which outlast even the change of races, and give one 
abiding color to the successive tenants of the same 
spot, or whether it be occasioned by the constant view 
of their fallen greatness and the triumph of their 
enemies, the scanty population of Derey'eeyah com- 
prises some of the bitterest and most bigoted fanatics 
that even 'Aared can offer. Accordingly we moved 
on, still keeping to the heights, and late at night de- 
scended a little hollow, where, amid an extensive gar- 
den, stood the country villa of 'Abd-er-Rahman. 

" We did not attempt to enter the house ; indeed, 
at such an hour no one was stirring to receive us. 
But a shed in the garden close by sufficed for travel- 



214 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

lers who were all too weary to desire anght but sleep ; 
and this we soon found in spite of dogs and jackals, 
numerous here aud throughout Nedjed. 

" From this locality to the capital was about four 
miles' distance. Our party divided next morning ; 
the Na'ib and his associates remaining behind, while 
Barakat and myself, with Aboo-'Eysa, set off straight 
for the town, where our guide was to give notice at 
the palace of the approach of the Persian dignitary, 
that the honors due to his reception might meet him 
half way. At our request the Meccans stayed also in 
the rear ; we did not desire the equivocal effect of 
their company on a first appearance. 

" For about an hour we proceeded southward, 
through barren and undulating ground, unable to see 
over the country to any distance. At last we attained 
a rising eminence, and crossing it, came at once in 
full view of Ri'ad, the main object of our long jour- 
ney — the capital of Nedjed and half Arabia, its very 
heart of hearts, 

" Before us stretched a wild open valley, and in its 
foreground, immediately below the pebbly slope on 
w^liose summit we stood, lay the capital, large and 
square, crowned by high towers and strong walls of 
defence, a mass of roofs and terraces, where overtop- 
ping all frowned the huge but irregular pile of Fey- 
sul's royal castle, and hard by it rose the scarce less 
conspicuous palace, built and inhabited b}^ his eldest 
son, 'Abdallah. Other edifices, too, of remarkable 
appearance broke here and there through the maze of 
gray roof-tops, but of their object and in dwellers we 
were yet to learn. All around for full three miles 



JOURNEY TO HI 'AD 215 

over the surrounding plain, but more especially to 
the west and south, waved a sea of palm-trees above 
green fields and well- watered gardens ; while the 
sino-inff, droning sound of the water-wheels reached 
us even where we had halted, at a quarter of a mile 
or more from the nearest town-walls. On the oppo- 
site side southward, the valley opened out into the 
great and even more fertile plains of Yemamah, 
thickly dotted with groves and villages, among which 
the large town of Manfoohah, hardly inferior in size 
to Ki'ad itself, might be clearly distinguished. Far- 
ther in the background ranged the blue hills, the 
ragged Sierra of Yemamah, compared some thirteen 
hundred years since, by 'Amroo-ebn-Kelthoom, the 
Shoraerite, to drawn swords in battle array ; and be- 
hind them was concealed the immeasurable Desert of 
the South, or Dahna. On the west the valley closes 
in and narrows in its upward windings toward De- 
rey'eeyah, while to the southwest the low mounds of 
Aflaj are the division between it and Wady Dowasir. 
Due east in the distance a long blue line marks the 
farthest heights of Toweyk, and shuts out from view 
the low ground of Hasa and the shores of the Per- 
sian Gulf. In all the countries which I have visited, 
and they are many, seldom has it been mine to sur- 
vey a landscape equal to this in beauty and in his- 
torical meaning, rich and full alike to eye and mind. 
But should any of my readers have ever approached 
Damascus from the side of the Anti-Lebanon, and 
surveyed the Ghootah from the heights above Mazzeh, 
they may thence form an approximate idea of the 
valley of Ri'ad when viewed from the north. Only 



216 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

this is wider and more varied, and the circle of vision 
liere embraces vaster plains and bolder mountains ; 
while the mixture of tropical aridity and luxuriant 
verdure, of crowded population and desert tracks, is 
one that Arabia alone can present, and in comparison 
with which Syria seems tame, and Italy monotonous." 



CHAPTER Xiy. 

PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS— ADVENTURES IN RI'AD 

" r^ARAKAT and rajself stopped our drouie- 
J__) daries a few minutes on the height to study 
and enjoy this noble prospect, and to forget the anx- 
iety inseparable from a first approach to the lion's 
own den. Aboo-'Eysa, too, though not unacquainted 
with the scene, willingly paused with us to point out 
and name the main features of the view, and show 
us where lay the onward road to his home in Hasa. 
We then descended the slope and skirted the walls 
of the first outlying plantations which gird the town. 
" At last we reached a great open square : its right 
side, the northern, consists of shops and warehouses ; 
while the left is entirely absorbed by the huge abode 
of Nedjean royalty ; in front of us, and consequently 
to the west, a long covered passage, upborne high on 
a clumsy colonnade, crossed the breadth of the 
square, and reached from the palace to the great 
mosque, which it thus joins directly with the interior 
of the castle and affords old Feysul a private and un- 
seen passage at will from his own apartments to his 
official post at the Friday prayers, without exposing 
liim on his way to vulgar curiosity, or perhaps to the 
dangers of treachery. For the fate of his father and 
of his great-uncle, his predecessors on the throne, and 

each of tliein pierced by the dagger of an assassin 
15 



218 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

during public worship, has rendeied Feysid very 
timid on this score, tiiongh not at prajer-tinie only. 
Behind this colonnade, other shops and warehouses 
make np the end of the square, or, more properly, 
parallelogram ; its total length is about two Inindrcd 
paces, by rather more than half the same width. In 
the midst of this space, and under the far-reaching 
shadow of the castle walls, are seated some fifty or 
sixty women, each with a stock of bread, dates, milk, 
vegetables, or firewood before her for sale. 

" But we did not now stop to gaze, nor indeed did 
we pay much attention to all this ; our first introduc- 
tion to the monarch and the critical position before 
us took np all our thoughts. So we paced on along- 
side of the long blind wall running out from the 
central keep, and looking more like the outside of 
a fortress than of a peaceful residence, till we came 
near a low and narrow gate, the only entry to the 
palace. Deep-sunk between the bastions, with mas- 
sive folding-doors iron bound, though thrown open 
at this hour of the day, and giving entrance into a 
dark passage, one might easilj^ have taken it for the 
vestibule of a prison ; while the number of guards, 
some black, some white, but all sword-giit, who al- 
most choked the way, did not seem very inviting to 
those without, especially to foreigners. Long earth 
seats lined the adjoining walls, and afforded a conve- 
nient waiting-place for visitors ; and here we took np 
onr rest at a little distance from the palace gate ; but 
Aboo-'Eysa entered at once to announce our arrival, 
and the approach of the JSTa'ib. 

" The first who drew near and saluted us was a 



ADVENTURES IN HI 'AD 219 

tall, meagre figure, of a sallow complexion, and an 
intelligent but slightly ill-natured and underhand 
cast of features. He was very well dressed, thougli 
of course without a vestige of unlawful silk in his 
apparel, and a certain air of conscious importance 
tempered the affability of his politeness. This was 
'Abd-el-'Azeez, whom, for want of a better title, I 
shall call the minister of foreign affairs, such being 
the approximate translation of his official style. 

" Accompanied by some attendants from the pal- 
ace, he came stately up, and seated himself by our 
side. He next began the customary interrogations 
of whence and what, with much smiling courtesy 
and show of welcome. After hearing our replies, 
the same of course as those given elsewhere, he in- 
vited us to enter the precincts, and partake of his 
Majesty's coffee and hospitality, while he promised 
us more immediate communications from the king 
himself in the course of the day. 

" If my readers have seen, as most of them un- 
doubtedly will, the Paris Tuileries, they may hereby 
know that the whole extent of Feysul's palace equals 
about two-thirds of that construction, and is little in- 
ferior to it in height ; if indeed we except the angu- 
lar pyramidal roofs or extinguishers peculiar to the 
French edifice. But in ornament the Parisian pile 
has the better of it, for there is small pretensions to 
architectural embellishment in this Wahabee Louvre. 
"Without, within, every other consideration has been 
sacrificed to strength and security; and the outer 
view of Newgate, at any rate, bears a very strong re- 
semblance to the general effect of Feysul's palace. 



220 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" Aboo-'Ejpa meanwliile, in company witli the out- 
riders sent from the palace, had gone to meet the 
Na'ib and introduce him to the lodgings prepared 
for his reception. Yery much was the Persian as- 
tounded to find none of the royal family among tliose 
who thus came, no one even of high name oi- office ; 
but yet more was his surprise when, instead of im- 
mediate admittance to Fej^sul's presence and eager 
embrace, he was quietly led aside to the very guest- 
room whither we had been conducted, and a dinner 
not a whit more sumptuous than ours was set before 
him, after which he was very coolly told that he 
might pray for Feysul and retire to his quarters, 
while the king settled the day and hour whereon lie 
would vouchsafe him the honor of an audience. 

"Afterward, the minister of foreign affairs conde- 
scended to come in person, and, sweetly smiling, in- 
formed us that our temporary habitation was ready, 
and that Aboo-'Eysa would conduct us thither with- 
out delay. We then begged to know, if possible, the 
king's good-will and pleasure regarding our stay and 
our business in the town. For on our first introduc- 
tion we had duly stated, in the most coi-rect Waha- 
bee phraseology, that we had come to Ri'ad ' desiring 
the favor of God, and secondly of Fej'sul ; and that 
we begged of God, and secondly of Feysul, permis- 
sion to exercise in the town our medical profession, 
under the protection of God, and in the next place 
of Feysul.' For Dogberry's advice to ' set God first, 
for God defend but God should go before such vil- 
lains,' is here observed to the letter ; whatever is de- 
sired, purported, or asked, the Deity must take the 



ADVENTURES IN HI 'AD 221 

lead. Nor this only, but even the subsequent men- 
tion of the creature must nowise be coupled with 
that of the Creator by the ordinary conjunction ' w',' 
tliat is, 'and,' since that would imply equality be- 
tween the two — flat blasphemy in word or thought. 
Hence the disjunctive ' tliumma,' or 'next after,' 'at 
a distance,' must take the place of ' w',' under pen- 
alty of prosecution under the statute. ' Unlucky the 
man who visits J^edjed without being previously well 
versed in tlie niceties of grammar,' said Barakat ; 
' under these schoolmasters a mistake might cost the 
scholar his head.' But of this more anon ; to return 
to our subject, 'Abd-el-'Azeez, a true politician, an- 
swered our second interrogation with a vague assur- 
ance of good-will and unmeaning patronage. Mean- 
time the Na'ib and his train marched oif in high 
dudgeon to their quarters, and Aboo-'Eysa gave our 
dromedaries a kick, made them rise, and drove them 
before us to our new abode." 

In the course of a day or two the travellers dis- 
covered what a sensation the arrival of their caravan 
had produced at court. The old king, Feysul, now 
in the thirty-third year of his reign, possessed all the 
superstition and bigotry of the old "Wahabees, and 
the sudden presence of Syrians, suspected of being 
Christians, Persians, and Meccans, in his capital, was 
too much for him. He at once left the palace, took 
up his temporary residence in a house outside the 
city, and a strong guard was posted around him until 
the court officials should have time to examine the 
strangers, discover, if possible, their secret designs, 
and report them to the king. The first spy was a 



222 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

shrewd and intelligent Affglian, a pretended convert 
to the Wahabee doctrine, who discovered nothing, 
and consequently made an unfavorable report. The 
second was a " man of zeal," one of a committee of 
twenty-two inquisitors, appointed by the king to ex- 
ercise constant espionage upon the inhabitants, with 
the power of punishing them at will for any infrac- 
tion or neglect of the Wahabee discipline. Palgrave 
gives the following account of his visit: 

" Abbood, for such was his name, though I never 
met the like before or after in Arabia proper, how- 
ever common it may be in Syria and Lebanon, took 
a different and more efficacious mode of espionage 
than 'Abd-el-Hameed had done before him. Affect- 
ing to consider us Mahometans, and learned ones 
too, he entered at once on religious topics, on the 
true character of Islam, its purity or corruptions, and 
inquired much after the present teaching and usages 
of Damascus and the JSTorth, evidently in the view of 
catching us in our words. But he had luckily en- 
countered his match ; for every citation of the Koran 
we replied with two, and proved ourselves intimately 
acquainted with the 'greater' and the 'lesser' poly- 
theism of foreign nations and heterodox Mahometans, 
with the commentaries of Beydowee and the tales of 
the Hadeeth, till our visitor, now won over to confi- 
dence, launched out full sail on the sea of discussion, 
and thereby rendered himself equally insti;uctive and 
interesting to men who had nothing more at heart 
than to learn the tenets of the sect from one of its 
most zealous professors, nay, a Zelator in person. In 
short, he ended by becoming half ii friend, and his 



ADVENTTIRE8 IN RI'AD 223 

regrets at onr being, like otlier Damascenes, yet in 
tlie outer porch of darkness, were tempered by a 
liope, which he did not disgnise, of at least pnt- 
ting a window in our porch for its better enlight- 
enment." 

Next day, in the forenoon, while the travellers 
were sauntering about the market-place, they met 
the minister 'Abd-el-'Azeez, who had that morning 
returned to the capital. With a smiling face and 
an air of great benignity he took them aside, and in- 
formed them the king did not consider Ri'ad a 
proper field for their medical skill ; that they had 
better at once continue their journey to Hofhoof, 
whither Aboo-'Eysa should conduct them straight- 
way ; and that the king would furnish each of them 
with a camel, a new suit of clothes, and some money. 
To these arguments Palgrave could only answer that 
he greatly desired the profit to be expected from a 
few weeks of medical practice in Ri'ad, since his 
success there would give him an immediate reputa- 
tion in Hofhoof, while his departure might deprive 
him of all reputation at tiie latter place. The min- 
ister promised to present his plea to Fej-sul, but gave 
him no hope of a favorable answer. The order to 
leave was repeated, and then, as a last experiment, 
Palgrave sent to two of the ministers a pound of the 
fragrant wood, which is burned as pastilles in Ara- 
bia, and is highly prized by the upper classes. The 
next day he received permission to remain longer in 
Ri'ad and exercise his profession. He thereupon 
took another residence, not so near the palace, and 
within convenient reach of one of the city gates. 



224 TRAVELS m ARABIA 

Before describing tlie place he gives the following 
account of the famous Arabian coffee : 

"Be it then known, bj way of prelude, that cof- 
fee, though one in name, is manifold in fact ; nor is 
every kind of berry entitled to the high cpalifica- 
tions too indiscriminately bestowed on the compre- 
hensive genns. The best coffee, let cavillers say 
what they will, is that of the Yemen, commonly en- 
titled 'Mokha,' from the main place of exportation. 
Now, I should be sorry to incur a lawsuit for libel or 
defamation from our wholesale or retail salesmen ; 
but were the particle not prefixed to the countless 
labels in London shop windows that bear the name 
of the Red Sea haven, they would have a more 
truthy import than what at present they convey. 
Yery little, so little indeed as to be quite inapprecia- 
ble, of the Mocha or Yemen berry ever finds its way 
westward of Constantinople. Arabia itself, Syria, 
and Egypt consume fully two-thirds, and the re- 
mainder is almost exclusively absorbed hj Turkish 
and Armenian oesophagi. Nor do these last get for 
their limited share the best or the purest. Before 
reaching the harbors of Alexandria, Jaffa, Beyrout, 
etc., for further exportation, the Mokhan bales have 
been, while yet on their \vay, sifted and resifted, 
grain by grain, and w^hatever they may have con- 
tained of the hard, rounded, half-transparent, green- 
ish-brown berrj^, the only one really w^ortli roasting 
and pounding, has been carefully picked out by ex- 
perienced fingers ; and it is the less generous residue 
of flattened, opaque, and whitish grains which alone, 
or almost alone, goes on board the shipping. So 



ADVENTURES IN RI'AD 225 

constant is tliis selecting process, that a gradation 
regular as the degrees on a map may be observed 
in the quality of Moklia, that is, Yemen, coffee even 
within the limits of Arabia itself, in proportion as 
one approaches to or recedes from Wadi Nejran and 
the neighborhood of Mecca, the first stages of the 
radiating mart. I have myself been times out of 
number an eye-witness of this sifting ; the operation 
is performed with tlie utmost seriousness and scrupu- 
lous exactness, reminding me of the diligence as- 
cribed to American diamond-searchers when scruti- 
nizing the torrent sands for their minute but precious 
treasure. 

"The berry, thus qualified for foreign use, quits 
its native land on three main lines of export — that 
of the Red Sea, that of the inner Hedjaz, and that 
of Kaseem. The terminus of the first line is Egypt, 
of the second Syria, of the third Nedjed and Sliomer. 
Hence Egypt and Syria are, of all countries without 
the frontiers of Arabia, the best supplied with its 
specific pi-oduce, though under the restrictions al- 
ready stated ; and through Alexandria or the Syrian 
seaports, Constantinople and the North obtain their 
diminished share. But this last stage of transport 
seldom conveys the genuine article, except by the 
intervention of private arrangements and personal 
friendship or interest. Where mere sale and traffic 
are concerned, substitution of an inferior quality, or 
an adulteration almost equivalent to substitution, 
frequently takes place in the different storehouses of 
the coast, till whatever Mokha-marked coffee leaves 
them for Europe and the West, is often no more like 



226 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the real offspring of the Yemen plant than the log- 
wood preparations of a London fourth-rate retail 
wine-seller resemble the pure libations of an Oporto 
viney.^rd. 

" The second species of coffee, by some preferred 
to that of Yemen, but in my poor opinion inferior 
to it, is the growth of Abyssinia ; its berry is larger, 
and of a somewhat different and a less heating flavor. 
It is, however, an excellent species ; and whenever 
the rich land that bears it shall be permitted bj man 
to enjoy the benefits of lier natural fertility, it will 
probably become an object of extensive cultivation 
and commerce. With this stops, at least in European 
opinion and taste, the list of coffee, and begins the 
list of beans. 

" While we were yet in the Djowf I described 
with sufficient minuteness how the beri-y is prepared 
for actual use ; nor is the process any way varied in 
I^edjed or other Arab lands. But in Nedjed an ad- 
ditional spicing of saffron, cloves, and the like, is 
still more common ; a fact which is easily explained 
by the want of what stimulus tobacco affords else- 
where. A second consequence of non-smoking 
among the Arabs is the increased strength of their 
coffee decoctions in Nedjed, and the prodigious fre- 
quency of their use ; to which we must add the 
larger ' finjans,' or coffee-cups, here in fashion. So 
sure are men, when debarred of one pleasure or ex- 
citement, to make it up by another." 

Palgrave gives the following picturesque descrip- 
tion of the Wahabee capital : " We wrap our head- 
gear, like true Arabs, round onr chins, put on our 



ADVENTURES IN BI'AD 227 

grave-looking black cloaks, take each a long stick in 
hand, and thread the narrow streets intermediate be- 
tween onr house and the market-place at a funeral 
pace, and speaking in an undertone. Those whom 
we meet salute ns, or we salute them ; be it known 
that the lesser number should always be the first to 
salute the greater, he who rides him who walks, he 
who walks him who stands, the stander the sitter, and 
so forth ; but never should a man salute a woman ; 
difference of age or even of rank between men does 
not enter into the general rules touching the priority 
of salutation. If those whom we have accosted hap- 
pen to be acquaintances or patients, or should they 
belong to the latitudinarian school, our salutation is 
duly returned. But if, by ill fortune, they appertain 
to the strict and high orthodox party, an under- look 
with a half scowl in silence is their only answer to 
our greeting. "Whereat we smile, Malvolio-like, and 
pass on. 

" At last we reach the market-place ; it is full of 
women and peasants, selling exactly what we want to 
buy, besides meat, firewood, milk, etc. ; around are 
customers, come on errands like our own. We single 
out a tempting basket of dates, and begin haggling 
with the unbeautiful Phyllis, seated beside her rural 
store. We find the price too high. ' By Him who 
protects Feysul,' answers she, ' I am the loser at that 
price.' We insist, ' By Him who shall grant Feysul 
a long life, I cannot bate it,' she replies. We have 
nothing to oppose to such tremendous asseverations, 
and accede or pass on, as the case may be. 

" Half of the shops, namely, those containing gro- 



228 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

cerj, lioiiseliold articles of use, slioemakers' stalls and 
smithies, are already open and busily thronged. For 
the capital of a strongly centralized empire is always 
full of strangers, come will they nill they on their 
several affairs. But around the butchei's' shops 
awaits the greatest human and canine crowd. My 
readers, I doubt not, know that the only licensed 
scavengers throughout the East are the dogs. ]S[ed- 
jeans are great flesh-eaters, and no wonder, consider- 
ing the cheapness of meat (a fine fat sheep costs at 
most five shillings, often less) and the keenness of 
mountaineer appetites. I wish that the police i-egu- 
lations of the city would enforce a little more cleanli- 
ness about these numerous shambles ; every refuse is 
left to cumber the ground at scarce two yards' dis- 
ta,nce. But dogs and dry air much alleviate the 
nuisance — a remark I made before at Ha'yel and 
Bereydah ; it holds true for all Central Arabia. 

" Barakat and I resolve on continuing our walk 
through the town. Ri'ad is divided into four quar- 
ters : one, the northeastern, to which the palaces of 
the royal family, the houses of the state officers, and 
the richer class of proprietors and government men 
belong. Here the dwellings are in general high, and 
the streets tolerably straight and not over narrow ; 
but the ground level is low, and it is perhaps the 
least healthy locality of all. JSIext the northwestei'n, 
where we are lodged ; a large ii-regular mass of 
houses, varying in size 'and keeping from the best to 
the worst ; here strangers, and often certain equiv- 
ocal characters, never wanting in large towns, how- 
ever strictly regulated, chieflj'^ abide ; here too are 



ADVENTURES IN BI' AD 229 

many noted for disaffection, and liarboring other 
tenets than those of the son of 'Abdel-Wahab, njen 
prone to old Arab ways and customs in ' Church and 
State,' to borrow our own analogous phrase ; here 
are country chiefs, here Bedouins and natives of Zul- 
phah and the outskirts find a lodging ; here, if 2a\y- 
where, is tobacco smoked or sold, and the Koran 
neglected in proportion. However, I would not have 
my readei-s to think our entire neighborhood so abso- 
hitely disreputable. 

"But we gladly turn away our eyes from so dreary 
a view to refresh them by a survey of the southwest- 
ern quarter, the chosen abode of formalism and or- 
thodoxy. In this section of Ri'ad inhabit the most 
energetic Zelators, here are the most irreproachable 
five-prayers-a-day Nedjeans, and all the flower of 
Wahabee purity. Above all, here dwell the principal 
survivors of the family of the great religious Tounder, 
the posterity of 'Abd-el-Wahab escaped from the 
Egyptian sword, and free from every stain of foreign 
contamination. Mosques of primitive simplicity and 
ample space, where the great dogma, not however 
confined to Ri'ad, that ' we are exactly in the right, 
and everyone else is in the wrong,' is daily incul- 
cated to crowds of auditors, overjoyed to find Par- 
adise all theirs and none's but theirs ; smaller ora- 
tories of Musallas, wells for ablution, and Kaabali- 
directed niches adorn every corner, and fill up every 
interval of house or orchard. The streets of this 
quarter are open, and the air healthy, so that the in- 
visible blessing is seconded by sensible and visible 
privileges of Providence. Think not, gentle reader, 



230 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

tliat I am indulging in gratuitous or self-invented 
irony ; I am only rendering expression for expression, 
and almost word for word, the talk of ti-ue Walia- 
bees, when describing the model quarter of their 
model city. This section of the town is spacious and 
well-peopled, and flourishes, the citadel of national 
and religious intolerance, pious pride, and genuine 
Wahabeeism. 

" E.ound the whole town run the walls, varying 
from twenty to thirty feet in height ; they are strong, 
in good repair, and defended by a deep trench and 
embankment. Beyond them are the gardens, much 
similar to those of Kaseem, both in arrangement and 
produce, despite the difference of latitude, here com- 
pensated by a higher ground level. But immedi- 
ately to the south, in Yeraamah, the eye remarks a 
change in the vegetation to a more tropical aspect ; 
of this, however, I will not say more for the present. 

" According to promise, Aboo-' Eysa played his part 
to bring us in patients and customers, and the very 
second morning that dawned on us in our new house 
ushered in an invalid who proved a very godsend. 
This was no other than Djowhar, treasurer of Feysul, 
and of the Wahabee empire. My readers may be 
startled to learn that this great functionary was jet 
black, a negro in fact, though not a slave, having ob- 
tained his freedom from Turkee, the father of the 
present king. He was tall, and, for a negro, hand- 
some ; about forty-five years of age, splendidly 
dressed, a point never neglected by wealthy Africans, 
whatever be their theoretical creed, and girt with a 
golden hilted sword. ' Bnt,' said he, ' gold, though 



ADVENTURES IN BI'AD 231 

unlawful if forming a part of apparel or mere oi-iia- 
ment, may be employed with a safe conscience in dec- 
orating weapons.' 

" After ceremonies and coffee, I took my dusky pa- 
tient into the consulting-room, where, by dint of 
questioning and surmise, for negroes in general are 
much less clear and less to the point than Arabs in 
their statements, I obtained the requisite elucidation 
of his case. The malady, though painful, was fortu- 
nately one admitting of simple and efficacious treat- 
ment, so that I was able on the spot to promise him 
a sensible amendment of condition within a fortnight, 
and that in three weeks' time he should be in plight 
to undertake his journey to Bahreyn. I added that 
with so distinguished a personage I could not think 
of exacting a bargain and fixing the amount of fees ; 
the requital of my care should be left to his generos- 
ity. He then took leave, and was re-conducted to 
his rooms in the palace by his fellow blacks of less 
degree." 

The next visitor was Abd el-Kereem, of the oldest 
nobility of N^edjed, related to the ruling family ; a 
bitter Wahabee, a strong, intelligent, bad, and dan- 
gerous man, who was both hated and feared by the 
people. His visit was a distinction for Palgrave, yet 
an additional danger. The latter, however, deter- 
mined to draw as much information from him con- 
cerning Wahabee doctrine as he might be inclined to 
give ; and, in reality, found him quite communica- 
tive. One day Palgrave asked him to define the 
difference between the g?'eat sins and the little ones 
— that is, those to be punished in the next woi-ld, or 



232 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

at least deserving of it, and those whose penalty is 
remissible in this life. 

" Abd-el-Ivereem donbted not that he had a sin- 
cere scholar before him, nor would refuse his hand 
to a drowning man. So, putting on a profound air, 
and with a voice of first-class solemnity, he uttered 
his oracle, that ' the first of the great sins is the giv- 
ing divine honors to a creature.' A hit, I may ob- 
serve, at ordinary Mahometans, whose whole doctrine 
of intercession, whether vested in Mahomet or in 
'Alee, is classed by Wahabees along with direct and 
downright idolatr3^ A Damascene Sliekh would 
have avoided the equivocation by answering, 'infi- 
delity.' 

" ' Of course,' I replied, ' the enormity of such a 
sin is beyond all doubt. But if this be the first, 
there must be a second ; what is it ? ' 

" ' Drinking the shameful,' in English, ' smoking 
tobacco,' was the unhesitating answer. 

" ' And murder, and adultery, and false witness ? ' 
I suggested. 

"'God is merciful and forgiving,' rejoined my 
friend ; that is, these are merely little sins. 

" ' Hence two sins alone are great, polytheism and 
smoking,' I continued, though hardly able to keep 
countenance any longer. And Abd-el-Kereem, with 
the most serious asseveration, replied that such was 
really the case. On hearing this, I proceeded humbly 
to entreat my friend to explain to me the especial 
wickedness inherent in tobacco leaves, that I might 
the more detest and eschew them hereafter. 

"Accordingly he proceeded to instruct me, say- 



ADVENTURES IN BT'AD 233 

ing that, Firstly, all intoxicating substances are pro- 
hibited by the Koran ; but tobacco is an intoxicating 
substance — ergo, tobacco is prohibited. 

" I insinuated that it was not intoxicating, and ap- 
pealed to experience. But, to ray surpi'ise, ray friend 
liad experience too on his side, and had ready at 
hand the raost appalling tales of men falling down 
dead drunk after a single whiff of smoke, and of 
others in a state of bestial and habitual ebriety from 
its use. Nor were his stories so purely gratuitous 
as many might at first imagine. The only tobacco 
known, when known, in Southern Nedjed, is that of 
Oman, a very powerful species. I was myself aston- 
ished, and almost 'taken in,' more than once, by its 
extraordinary narcotic effects, when I experienced 
them, in the coffee-houses of Bahreyn." 

Palgrave furnishes a tolerably complete account of 
the provinces of ]N"edjed and the tribes which inhabit 
them. His concluding statement, however, embodies 
all which will interest the reader. 

" To sum up, we may say that the Wahabee em- 
pire is a compact and well-organized government, 
where centralization is fully understood and effectu- 
ally carried out, and whose main-springs and connect- 
ing links are force and fanaticism. There exist no 
constitutional checks either on the king or on his sub- 
ordinates, save what the necessity of circumstance im- 
poses or the Koran prescribes. Its atmosphere, to 
speak metaphorically, is sheer despotism — moral, in- 
tellectual, religious, and physical. This empire is ca- 
pable of frontier extension, and hence is dangerous 

to its neighbors, some of whom it is even now swal- 
IG 



234 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

lowing np, and will certainly swallow more if not 
otherwise prevented. Incapable of true internal prog- 
ress, hostile to commerce, unfavorable to arts and 
even to agriculture, and in the highest degree intol- 
erant and aggressive, it can neither better itself nor 
benefit others ; while the order and calm which it 
sometimes spreads over the lands of its conquest are 
described in the oft-cited Vbi solitudlnem faoiunt 
pacem aj>ptUant of the Horn an annalist. 

" In conclusion, I here subjoin a numerical list, 
taken partly from the government registers of Ri'ad, 
partly from local information, and containing the 
provinces, the number of the principal towns or vil- 
lages, the population, and the military contingent, 
throughout the Wahabee empire. 

Provinces. Towns or villages. Population. Military muster. 

I._'Aared 15 : 110,000 6.000 

II.— Yemamah .... 33 140,000 4,500 

III.— Hareek 16 45,000 3,000 

IV.— Aflaj 12 14,000 1,200 

v.— Wady Dowasir. 50 100,000 4,000 

VL— Seley'yel 14 30,000 1,400 

VII.— Woshem 20 80,000 4,000 

VIIL— Sedeyr 25 140,000 5,200 

IX.— Kaseem 60 300,000 11,000 

X.— Hasa 50 160,000 7,000 

XI.— Kateef 22 100,000 



316 1,319,000 47,300 '» 

After a time, Palgrave was sent for by Abdallah, 
the eldest son of King Feysul, who pretended that 
he wished to learn something of the medical art. 
This led to a regular intercourse, which at least en- 
abled the traveller to learn many things concerning 
the Wahabee government. Another important re- 



ADVENTURES IN BI'AD 235 

salt was an opportunity of visiting the royal stables, 
where the finest specimens of the famous ISTedjed 
breed of horses are kept. Of these he gives the fol- 
lowing interesting description : 

" The stables are situated some way out of the 
town, to the northeast, a little to the left of the road 
which we had followed at our first arrival, and not 
far from the gardens of 'Abd-er-Kahman the Waha- 
bee. They cover a large square space, about 150 
yards each way, and are open in the centre, with a 
lono; shed running round tlie inner walls : under this 
covering the horses, about three hundred in number 
when I saw them, are picketed during the night ; 
in the daytime they may stretch their legs at pleas- 
ure within the central court-yard. The greater num- 
ber were accordingly loose ; a few, however, were 
tied up at their stalls ; some, but not many, liad 
liorse-cloths over them. The heavy dews which fall 
in Wady Haneefah do not permit their remaining 
with impunity in the open night air ; I was told also 
that a northerly wind will occasionally injure the 
animals here, no less than the land wind does now 
and then their brethren in India. About half the 
royal stud was present before me, the rest were out 
at grass ; Feysul's entire muster is reckoned at six 
hundred, or rather more, 

" No Arab dreams of tying up a horse by the 
neck ; a tether replaces the halter, and one of the 
animal's hind legs is encircled about the pastern by a 
light iron ring, furnished with a padlock, and con- 
nected with an iron chain of two feet or thereabouts 
in lengtli, ending in a rope, which is fastened to the 



236 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

ground at some distance by an iron peg ; such is the 
customary method. But should the animal be rest- 
less and troublesome, a foreleg is put under similar 
restraint. It is well known that in Arabia horses are 
much less frequently vicious or refractory than in 
Europe, and this is the reason why geldings are here 
so rare, though not unknown. No particular prej- 
udice, that I could discover, exists against the opera- 
tion itself ; only it is seldom performed, because not 
otherwise necessary, and tending, of course, to dimin- 
ish the value of the animal. 

" But to return to the horses now before us ; never 
liad I seen or imagined so lovely a collection. Their 
stature was indeed somewhat low ; I do not think 
that any came fully up to fifteen hands ; fourteen 
appeared to me about their average, but they were so 
exquisitely well shaped that want of greater size 
seemed hardly, if at all, a defect. Remarkably full 
in the haunches, with a shoulder of a slope so elegant 
as to make one, in the words of an Arab poet, ' go 
raving mad about it ; ' a little, a very little, saddle- 
backed, just the curve which indicates springiness 
without any weakness ; a head broad above, and 
tapering down to a nose fine enough to verify the 
phrase of ' drinking from a pint pot,' did pint pots 
exist in Nedjed ; a most intelligent and yet a singu- 
larly gentle look, full eye, sharp thorn-like little eai-, 
legs fore and hind that seemed as if made of ham- 
mered iron, so clean and yet so well twisted with 
sinew ; a neat, round hoof, just the requisite for hard 
ground ; the tail set on, or rather thrown out at a 
perfect arch ; coats smooth, shining, and light, the 



ADVENTUBE8 IN BI'AD 237 

mane long, but not overgrown nor heavy, and an air 
and step that seemed to sa^', ' Look at me, am I not 
pi'etty ? ' their appearance justified all repntation, all 
value, all poetry. The prevailing color was chestnut 
or gray ; a light bay, an iron color, white or black, 
were less common ; full bay, flea-bitten or piebald, 
none. But if asked what are, after all, the specially 
distinctive points of the Nedjee horse, I should reply, 
the slope of the shoulder, the extreme cleanness of 
the shank, and the full, rounded haunch, though 
every other part, too, has a perfection and a harmony 
unwitnessed (at least by my eyes) anywdiere else. 

" jS^edjee horses are especially esteemed for great 
speed and endurance of fatigue ; indeed, in this latter 
qualit}^, none come up to them. To pass twenty- 
four hours on the road without drink and without 
flagging is certainly something ; but to keep up the 
same abstinence and labor conjoined under the burn- 
ing Arabian sky for forty-eight hours at a stretch, is, 
I believe, peculiar to the animals of the breed. Be- 
sides, they have a delicacy, I cannot say of mouth, 
for it is common to ride them without bit or bridle, 
but of feeling and obedience to the knee and thigh, 
to the slightest check of the halter and the voice of 
the I'ider, far surpassing whatever the most elaborate 
manege gives a European horse, though furnished 
with snafile, curb, and all. T often mounted them at 
the invitation of their owners, and without saddle, 
rein, or stirrup, set them off at full gallop, wheeled 
them round, brought them up in raid career at a 
dead halt, and that without the least difficulty or the 
smallest want of correspondence between the horse's 



238 TRA VEL8 IN ARABIA 

movements and n\j own will; the rider on their back 
really feels himself the man-half of a centaur, not a 
distinct being." 

During the last week in ITovember the Persian 
Na'ib, who had been little edified bj his experiences 
in Nedjed, set off for Bagdad. In the meantime, 
Fejsul had made great preparations toward collect- 
ing an army for the reduction of the city of Oney- 
zah (near Bereydah), which still held out gallantl3^ 
Troops were summoned from the eastern coast and 
the adjoining provinces, and Sa'ood, the second son 
of Feysul, was ordered to bring them together at the 
capital, when the command was to be given to Abdal- 
lah, the eldest son. Palgi-ave had then his only op- 
portunity of seeing the old King of the Wahabees. 

" Sa'ood speedily arrived, and with him about two 
hundred horsemen ; the rest of his men, more than 
two thousand, were mounted on camels. When tliey 
entered Ri'ad, Feysul, for the first and last time dur- 
ing our stay, gave a public audience at the palace 
gate. It was a scene for a painter. There sat the 
blind old tjn-ant, corpulent, decrepit, yet imposing, 
with his large, broad forehead, white beard, and 
thoughtful air, clad in all the simplicity of a Waha- 
bee ; the gold-hafted sword at his side his only orna- 
ment or distinction. Beside him the ministers, the 
officers of his court, and a crowd of the nobler and 
wealthier citizens. Abdallah, the heir to the throne, 
was alone absent. Up came Sa'ood with the bear- 
ing of a hussar oflScer, richly clad in cashmere 
shawls and a gold-wrought mantle, while man by 
man followed his red-dressed cavaliers, their spears 



ADVENTURES IN MI 'AD 239 

over tlieii" shoulders, and their swords hanging 
down ; a musket, too, was slung behind the saddle 
of each warrior ; and the sharp dagger of Hareek 
glittered in every girdle. Next came the common 
soldiers on camels or dromedaries, some with spears 
only, some with spears and guns, till the wide square 
was filled with armed men and gazing spectators, as 
the whole troop drew up before the great autocrat, 
and Sa'ood alighted to bend and kiss his father's 
liand. ' God save Feysul ! God give the victory to 
the armies of the Muslims ! ' was shouted out on 
every side, and all faces kindled into the fierce smile 
of concentrated enthusiasm and conscious strength. 
Feysul arose from his seat and placed his son at his 
side ; another moment, and they entered the castle 
together." 



CHAPTER XY. 

PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS— HIS ESCAPE TO THE EASTERN 
COAST 

" rj'OE, a foreigner to enter Ei'ad is not always eas}^, 
1 but to get awaj from it is harder still ; Rey- 
nard himself would have been justly shy of venturing 
on this royal cave. Thei-e exists in the capital of 
Kedjed two approved means of barring the exit 
against those on whom mistrust may have fallen. 
The first and readiest is that of which it has been 
emphatically said, Stone-dead hath no fellow. But 
should circumstances render the bonds of death in- 
expedient, the bonds of Hymen and a Ri'ad estab- 
lishment may and occasionally do supply their office. 
By this latter proceeding, the more amiable of the 
two, Abdallah resolved to enchain us. 

"Accordingly, one morning arrived at our dwell- 
ing an attendant of the palace, with a smiling face, 
presage of some good in reserve, and many fair 
speeches. After inquiries about our health, comfoi't, 
well-being, etc., he added that Abdallah thought we 
might be desirous of purchasing this or that, and 
begged us to accept of a small present. It was a 
fair sum of money, just twice so much as the ordi- 
nary token of good-will, namely, four rials in place 
of two. After which the messenijer took his leave. 



ESCAPE FROM RI 'AD 241 

Aboo-'Eysa had been present at the interview : ' Be 
on the look-out,' said he, 'there is something wrong.' 
" That very afternoon Abdallah sent for me, and 
with abundance of encomiams and of promises, de- 
clared that he could not think of letting Ei'ad lose 
so valuable a plijsician, that I must accordingly take 
up a permanent abode in the capital, where I might 
rely on his patronage, and on all good things ; that 
he had already resolved on giving me a house and a 
garden, specifying them, with a suitable household, 
and a fair face to keep me company ; he concluded 
by inviting me to go without delay and see whether 
the new abode fitted me, and take possession. 

" Much and long did I fight ofp ; talked about a 
winter visit to the coast, and coming back in the 
spring; tried first one pretext and tlien another; 
but none would avail, and Abdallah continued to in- 
sist. To quiet him, I consented to go and see the 
house. For the intended Calypso, I had ready an 
argument derived from Mahometan law, which put 
her out of the question, but its explanation would 
require more space than these pages can afford. 

" The winter season was now setting in ; it was 
the third week in November ; and a thunder-storm, 
the first we had witnessed in Central Arabia, ushered 
in a marked change for cold in the temperature of 
Wady Haneefah. Rain fell abundantly, and sent 
torrents down the dry watercourses of the valley, 
changing its large hollows into temporary tanks. 
None of the streams showed, however, any disposi- 
tion to reach the sea, nor indeed could they, for this 
part of Nedjed is entirely hemmed in to the east by 



242 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the Toweyk range. The inliabitants welcomed the 
copious showers, pledges of fertility for the coming 
year, while at 'Oneyzah the same rains produced at 
least one excellent effect, but which I may well defy 
my readers to guess. The hostile armies, com- 
manded by Zamil and Mohammed-ebn-Sa'ood, were 
drawn up in face of each other, and on the point of 
fierce conflict, when the storm burst on them, and by 
patting out the lighted matchlocks of either party, 
prevented the discharge of bullets and the effusion 
of blood." 

Abdallah, who hated his second brother, Sa'ood, 
and had many other fierce enmities in the capital, 
then accidentally learned that Palgrave had employed 
a deadly poison (strychnine) in making a remarkable 
cure. Thenceforth all his powers of persuasion were 
employed in endeavoring to procure some of the 
drug ; but Palgrave, suspecting his real design, posi- 
tively refused to let him have ?iny. His rage was 
suddenly and strongly expressed on his countenance, 
foreboding no good to the traveller, who took the 
first opportunity of returning to his house. 

" There Aboo-'Eysa, Barakat, and myself," he 
says, " immediately held council to consider what 
was now to be done. That an outbreak must shortly 
take place seemed certain ; to await it was dangerous, 
yet we could not safely leave the town in an over- 
precipitate manner, nor without some kind of per- 
mission. We resolved together to go on in quiet 
and caution a few days more, to sound the court, 
make our adieus at Feysul's palace, get a good woi-d 
from Mahboob (no difficult matter), and then slip off 



ESCAPE FROM RI'AD 243 

without attracting too much notice. But our destiny 
was not to run so smoothly." 

Late in -the evening of ISTovember 21st, Palgrave 
was summoned to Abdallah's palace. The messenger 
refused to allow Barakat or Aboo-'Eysa to accompany 
liim. The occasion seemed portentous, but disobe- 
dience was out of the question. Palgrave followed 
tlie messenger. On entering the reception-room, he 
found Abdallah, Abd-el-Lateef, the successor of the 
Wahabee, Mahboob, and a few others. All were si- 
lent, and none returned his first salutation. " I sa- 
luted Abdallah," says Palgrave, " who replied in an 
undertone, and gave me a signal to sit down at a little 
distance from him, but on the same side of the divan. 
My readers may suppose that I was not at the mo- 
ment ambitious of too intimate a vicinity. 

" After an interval of silence, Abdallah turned 
half round toward me, and with his blackest look and 
a deep voice said, ' I now know perfectly well what 
you are ; you are no doctors, you are Christians, 
spies, and revolutionists, come hither to ruin our re- 
lio-ion and state in behalf of those who sent you. 
The penalty for such as you is death, that you know, 
and I am determined to inflict it without delay.' 

" ' Threatened folks live long,' thought I, and had 
no difficulty in showing the calm which I really felt. 
So looking him coolly in the face, I replied, '■Tstagh- 
^T?/' J.^Z«A,' literally, ' Ask pardon of God.' This is 
the phrase commonly addressed to one who has said 
something extremely out of place. 

" The answer was unexpected : he started, and 
said, ' Why so ? ' 



244 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" ' Because,' I rejoined, ' you have just now uttered 
a sheer absurdity. " Cliristians," be it so ; but " spies," 
"revolutionists" — as if we were not known by every- 
body in your town for quiet doctors, neither more nor 
less ! And then to talk about putting me to death ! 
You cannot, and you dare not.' 

" ' But I can and dare,' answered Abdallah, ' and 
who shall prevent me ? You shall soon learn that to 
your cost.' 

" ' Neither can nor dare,' repeated I. ' We are 
here your father's guests, and yours for a month and 
more, known as such, received as such. What have 
we done to justify abroach of the laws of hospitality 
in Nedjed ? It is impossible for you to do what you 
say,' continued I, thinking the while that it was a 
great deal too possible, after all ; ' the obloquy of the 
deed would be too much for you.' 

" He remained a moment thoughtful, then said, 
' As if anyone need know who did it. I have the 
means, and can dispose of you without talk or rumor. 
Those who are at my bidding can take a suitable time 
and place for that, without my name being ever men- 
tioned in the affair.' 

" The advantage was now evidently on my side ; I 
followed it up, and said with a quiet laugh, 'Neither 
is that within your power. Am 1 not known to your 
father, to all in his palace ? to your own brother Sa'- 
ood among the rest ? Is not the fact of this my ac- 
tual visit to you known without your gates ? Or is 
there no one here ? ' added I, with a glance at Mah- 
boob, ' who can report elsewhere what you have 
just now said? Better for you to leave off this 



ESCAPE FROM RI 'AD 245 

nonsense ; do you take me for a child of four days 
old?' 

" He muttered a repetition of his threat. ' Bear 
witness, all here present,' said I, raising my voice so 
as to be heard from one end of the I'oom to the 
otiier, ' that if any mishap befalls ray companion or 
myself from Ri'ad to the shores of the Persian Gnlf, 
it is all Abdallah's doing. And the consequences 
shall be on his head, worse consequences than he ex- 
pects or dreams.' 

" The prince made no reply. All were silent ; 
Mahboob kept his eyes steadily fixed on the fire- 
place ; 'Abd-el-Lateef looked much and said nothino-. 

" ' Bring coffee,' called out Abdallah to the ser- 
vants. Before a minute had elapsed, a black slave 
approached with one, and only one, coffee-cup in his 
hand. At a second sign fi'om his master he came be- 
fore me and presented it. 

" Of course the w^orst might be conjectured of so 
unusnal and solitary a draught. Bnt I thought it 
highly improbable that matters should have been so 
accurately prepared ; besides, his main cause of anger 
was precisely the refusal of poisons, a fact which im- 
plied that he had none by him ready for use. So I 
said ' Blsmillah,'' took the cnp, looked very hard at 
Abdallah, drank it off, and then said to the slave, 
' Pour me out a second.' This he did ; I swallowed 
it, and said, ' Now you may take the cup away.' 

"The desired effect was fully attained. Abd- 
allah's face announced defeat, while the rest of the 
assembly whispered together. The prince turned to 
'Abd-el-Lateef and began talking about the dangers 



246 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

to which th.e land was exposed from spies, and the 
wicked designs of infidels for ruining the kingdom 
of the Muslims. The Kadee and his companions 
chimed in, and the- story of a pseudo - Darweesh 
traveller killed at Derey'eejah, and of another (but 
who he was I cannot fancy ; perhaps a Persian, who 
had, said Abdallah, been also recognized for an in- 
triguer, but had escaped to Muscat, and thus baffled 
the penalty due to his crimes), were now brought 
forward and commented on. Mahboob now at last 
spoke, but it was to ridicule such apprehensions. 
' The thing is in itself unlikely,' said he, ' and were 
it so, what harm could they do ? ' alluding to my 
companion and myself. 

" On this I took up the word, and a general con- 
versation ensued, in which I did my best to explode 
the idea of spies and spymanship, appealed to our 
own quiet and inoffensive conduct, got into a virtu- 
ous indignation against such a requital of evil for 
good after all the services which we had rendered 
court and town, and quoted verses of the Koran re- 
garding the wickedness of ungrounded suspicion, and 
the obligation of not judging ill without clear evi- 
dence. Abdallah made no direct answer, and the 
others, whatever they may have thought, could not 
support a charge abandoned by their master, 

" What amused me not a little was that the Wa- 
habee prince liad after all very nearly hit the right 
nail on the head, and that I was snubbing liim only 
for having guessed too well. But there was no help 
for it, and I had the pleasure of seeing that, though 
at heart unchanged in liis opinion about us, he was 



ESCAPE FROM BI 'AD 247 

yet sufficienty cowed to render a respite certain, and 
our escape thereby practicable. 

" This kind of talk continued a while, and I pur^ 
posely kept inj seat, to show the unconcern of inno- 
cence, till Mahboob made me a sign that I might 
safely retire. On this I took leave of Abdallah and 
quitted the palace unaccompanied. It was now near 
midnight, not a light to be seen in the houses, not a 
sound to be heard in the streets ; the sky too was 
dark and overcast, till, for the first time, a feeling of 
lonely dread came over me, and I confess that more 
than once I turned my head to look and see if no 
one was following with ' evil,' as Arabs say, in his 
liand. But there was none, and I reached the quiet 
alley and low door where a gleam through the chinks 
announced the anxious watch of my companions, who 
now opened the entrance, overjoyed at seeing me 
back sound and safe from so critical a parley. 

" Our plan for the future was soon formed. A day 
or two we were yet to remain in Ri'ad, lest haste 
should seem to imply fear, and thereby encourage 
pursuit. But during that period we would avoid 
the palace, out-walks in gardens or after nightfall, 
and keep at home as much as possible. Meanwhile 
Aboo-'Eysa was to get his dromedaries ready, and 
put them in a courtyard immediately adjoining the 
house, to be laden at a moment's notice. 

" A band of travellers was to leave Ki'ad for Hasa 
a few days later. Aboo-'Eysa gave out publicly that 
he would accompany them to Ilofhoof, while we were 
supposed to intend following tlie northern or Sedeyr 
track, by which the Na'ib, after many reciprocal fare- 



248 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

wells and assurances of lasting friendship, should we 
ever meet again, had lately departed. Mobejreek, a 
black servant in Aboo-'Ejsa's pay, occupied himself 
diligently in feeding up the camels for their long 
march with clover and vetches, both abundant here ; 
and we continued our medical avocations, but quietly, 
and without much leaving the house. 

" During the afternoon of the 24th we brought 
three of Aboo-'Eysa's camels into our courtyard, shut 
the outer door, packed, aud laded. We then awaited 
the moment of evening praj^er ; it came, and the 
voice of the Mu'eddineen summoned all good Waha- 
bees, the men of the town-guard not excepted, to the 
different mosques. When about ten minutes had 
gone by, and all might be supposed at their prayers, 
we opened our door. Mobeyreek gave a glance up 
and down the street to ascertain that no one was in 
sight, and we led out the camels. Aboo-'Eysa accom- 
panied us. Avoiding the larger thoroughfares, we 
took our way by by-lanes and side-passages toward a 
small town-gate, the nearest to our house, and open- 
ino; on the north. A late comer fell in with us on 
his way to the Mesjid, and as he passed summoned 
us also to the public service. But Aboo-'Eysa unhes- 
itatingly replied, ' We have this moment come from 
pi-ayers,' and our interlocutor, fearing to be himself 
too late and thus to fall under reprehension and pun- 
ishment, rushed off to the nearest oratory, leaving the 
road clear. Nobody was in watch at the gate. We 
crossed its threshold, turned southeast, and under the 
rapid twilight reached a range of small hillocks, be- 
hind which we sheltered ourselves till the stars came 



ESCAPE FROM EI 'AD 249 

out, and the ' wing of night,' to quote Arab poets, 
spread black over town and country. 

" So far so good. But f urtlier difficulties remained 
before us. It was now more than ever absolutely es- 
sential to get clear of Nedjed unobserved, to put the 
desert between us and the Wahabee court and capi- 
tal ; and no less necessary was it that Aboo-'Eysa, so 
closely connected as he was with Ri'ad and its gov- 
ernment, should seem nohow implicated in our un- 
ceremonious departure, nor any way concerned with 
our onward movements. In a word, an apparent sep- 
aration of paths between him and us was necessary 
before we could again come together and complete 
the remainder of our explorations. 

" In order to manage this, and while ensuring our 
own safety to throw a little dust in Wahabee eyes, it 
was agreed that before next morning's sunrise Aboo- 
'Eysa should return to the town, and to his dwelling, 
as though nothing had occuri-ed, and should there 
await the departure of the great merchant caravan, 
mentioned previously, and composed mainly of men 
from Hasa and Kateef, now bound for Ilofhoof. 
This assemblage was expected to start within three 
days at latest. Meanwhile our friend should take care 
to show liiraself openly in the palaces of Feysul and 
Abdallah, and if asked about us should answer 
vaguely, with the off-hand air of one who had no 
further care regarding us. We ourselves should in 
the interim make the best of our way, with JVIobey- 
reek for guide, to Wady Soley', and there remain 
concealed in a given spot, till Aboo-'Eysa should 
come and pick us up. 
17 



250 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

" All this was arranged ; at break of dawn, Aboo- 
'Ejsa took his leave, and Barakat, Mobeyreek, and 
myself were once more high-perched on our dromeda- 
ries, their heads turned to the southeast, keeping the 
hillock range between us and Ri'ad, which we saw no 
more. Our path led us over low undulating ground, 
a continuation of Wady Haneefah, till after about 
four hours' march we were before the gates of Man- 
foohali, a considerable town, surrounded by gardens 
nothing inferior in extent and fertility to those of 
Ri'ad ; but its fortifications, once strong, have long 
since been dismantled and broken down by the jeal- 
ousy of the neighboring capital. 

After winding here and there, we reached the spot 
assigned by Aboo-'Eysa for our hiding-place. It was 
a small sandy depth, lying some way off the beaten, 
track, amid hillocks and brushwood, and without 
water ; of this latter article we had taken enough in 
the goat-skins to last us for three days. Here we 
halted, and made up onr minds to patience and ex- 
pectation. 

" Two days passed drearily enough. We could not 
but long for our guide's arrival, nor be wholly with- 
out fear on more than one score. Once or twice a 
stray peasant stumbled on us, and was much sur- 
prised at our encampment in so droughty a locality. 
So the hours went by, till the third day brought closer 
expectation and anxiety, still increasing while the sun 
declined, and at last went down ; yet nobody ap- 
peared. But just as darkness closed in, and we were 
sitting in a dispirited group beside our little fire, for 
the night air blew chill, Aboo-'Eysa came suddenly. 



ESCAPE FROM HI 'AD 251 

up, and all was changed for question and answer, for 
cheerfulness and laughter. 

" Early on November 28th we resumed our march 
through a light valley-mist, and soon fell in with our 
companions of the road. 

" 'Next morning the whole country, hill and dale, 
trees and bushes, was wrapped in a thick blanket of 
mist, fitter for Surrey than for Arabia. So dense 
was the milky fog, that we fairly lost our way, and 
went on at random, shouting and hallooing, driving 
our beasts now here, now there, over broken ground 
and amid tangling shrubs, till the sun gained strength 
and the vapor cleared off, showing us the path at 
some distance on our right. Before we had followed 
it far, we saw a black mass advancing from the east 
to meet us. It was the first division of the Hasa 
troops on their way to lii'ad ; they were not less than 
four or five hundred in number. Like true Arabs, 
they marched with a noble contempt of order and 
discipline — walking, galloping, ambling, singing, 
shouting, alone or in bands, as fancy led. We inter- 
changed a few words of greeting with these brisk 
boys, who avowed, without hesitation or shame, that 
they should much have preferred to stay at home, 
and that enforced necessity, not any military or i-e- 
ligious ardor, was taking them to the field. We 
laughed, and wished them Zamil's head, or him 
theirs, whereon they laughed also, shouted, and 
passed on. 

" On we went, but through a country of much 
more varied scenery than what we had traversed tlie 
day before, enjoying the ' pleasure situate in hill and 



252 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

dale,' till we arrived at the foot of a high white cliff, 
almost like that of Dover ; but these crags, instead 
of having the sea at their foot, overlooked a wide 
valley full of trees, and bearing traces of many vio- 
lent winter torrents from east to west ; none were 
now flowing. Here we halted, and passed an indif- 
ferent night, much annoyed by ' chill November's 
surly blast,' hardly less ungenial here than on the 
banks of Ayr, though sweeping over a latitude of 
25°, not 56°. 

" Before the starlight had faded from the cold 
morning sky, we were up and in movement, for a 
long march was before us. At sunrise we stood on 
the last, and here the highest, ledge of Toweyk, that 
long chalky wall which bounds and backs up Ned- 
jed on the east ; beyond is the desert, and then the 
coast. 

" After about three hours of level route we began 
to descend, not rapidly, but by degrees, and at noon 
we reached a singular depression, a huge natural 
basin, hollowed out in the limestone rock, with 
tracks resembling deep trenches leading to it from 
every side. At the bottom of this crater-like valley 
were a dozen or more wells, so abundant in their 
supply that they not unfrequently overflow the whole 
space, and form a small lake ; the water is clear and 
good, but no other is to be met with on the entire 
line hence to Hasa. 

" For the rest of the day we continued steadily to 
descend the broad even slope, whose extreme bar- 
renness and inanimate monotony reminded me of the 
pebbly uplands near Ma'an on the opposite side of 



ESCAPE FROM RI 'AD 253 

tlie peninsula, traversed by iis exactly seven months 
before. The sun set, night came on, and many of 
the travellers would gladly have halted, but Aboo- 
'Eysa insisted on continuing the march. We were 
now many hundred feet lower than the crest behind 
us, and the air felt warm and heavy, when we no- 
ticed that the ground, hitherto hard beneath our feet, 
was changing step by step into a light sand, that 
seemed to encroach on the rocky soil. It was at 
first a shallow ripple, then deepened, and before long 
presented the well-known ridges and undulations 
characteristic of the land ocean when several fath- 
oms in depth. Our beasts ploughed laboriously on 
through the yielding surface ; the night was dark, 
but starry, and we could just discern amid the shade 
a white glimmer of spectral sand-hills, rising around 
us on every side, but no track or indication of a 
route. 

" It was the great Dahna, or 'Red Desert,' the 
bugbear of even the wandering Bedouin, and never 
traversed by ordinary wayfarers without an appre- 
hension which has too often been justified by fatal 
incidents. So light are the sands, so capricious the 
breezes that shape and reshape them dail}'' into un- 
stable hills and valleys, that no traces of preceding 
travellers remain to those who follow ; while intense 
heat and glaring light reflected on all sides combine 
with drought and weariness to confuse and bewilder 
the adventurer, till he loses his compass and wanders 
up and down at random amid a waste solitude which 
soon becomes his grave. Many have thus perished ; 
even whole caravans have been known to disappear 



254 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

in the Dalina without a vestige, till the wild Arab 
tales of demons carrjnng off wanderers, or ghouls 
devouring them, obtain a half credit among many 
accustomed elsewhere to laugh at such fictions. 

" For, after about three hours of night travelling, 
or rather wading, among the sand-waves, till men 
and beasts alike were ready to sink for weariness, a 
sharp altercation arose between Aboo-'Ejsa and El- 
Ghannam, each proposing a different direction of 
march. We all halted a moment, and raised our 
eyes, heavy with drowsiness and fatigue, as if to see 
which of the contending parties was in the right. It 
will be long before I forget the impression of that 
nioment. Above us was the deep black sky, span- 
gled with huge stars of a brilliancy denied to all but 
an Arab gaze, while what is elsewhere a ray of the 
third magnitude becomes here of the first amid the 
pure vacuum of a mistless, vaporless air ; around us 
loomed high ridges, shutting us in before and behind 
with their white, ghost-like outlines ; below our feet 
the lifeless sand, and everywhere a silence that 
seemed to belong to some strange and dreamy world 
where man might not venture. 

" When not far from the midmost of the Dahna, we 
fell in with a few Bedouins, belonging to the Aal- 
Morrah clan, sole tenants of this desert. They were 
leading their goats to little spots of scattered herbage 
and shrubs which here and there fix a precarious ex- 
istence in the hollows of the sands. 

" Theirs is the great desert from Nedjed to Had- 
ramaut. Not that they actually cover this immense 
space, a good fourth of the peninsula, but that they 



ESCAPE FROM EI 'AD 255 

have the free and undisputed range of the oases 
wliich it occasionally offers, where herbs, shrubs, and 
dwarf-palms cluster round some well of scant and 
briny water. These oases are sufficiently numerous 
to preserve a stray Bedouin or two from perishing, 
though not enough so to become landmarks for any 
regular route across the central Dahna, from the 
main body of which runs out the long and broad arm 
which we were now traversing. 

" Another night's bivouac, and then again over the 
white down-sloping plain. 

"It was now three days and a half since our last 
supply of water, and Aboo-'Eysa was anxious to 
reach the journey's end without delay. As darkness 
closed around we reached the farthermost heights of 
the coast-range of Hasa. Hence we overlooked the 
plains of Hasa, but could distinguish nothing through 
the deceptive rays of the rising moon ; we seemed to 
gaze into a vast milky ocean. After an hour's halt 
for supper we wandered on, now up, now down, over 
pass and crag, till a long, corkscrew descent down the 
precipitous sea-side of the mountain, for a thousand 
feet or near it, placed us fairly upon the low level of 
Hasa, and within the warm, damp air of the sea- 
coast. 

" The ground glimmered white to the moon, and 
gave a firm footing to our dromedaries, who, by their 
renewed agility, seemed to partake in the joy of 
their riders, and to understand that rest was near. 
We were, in fact, all so eager to find ourselves at 
home and homestead, that although the town of 
Hofhoof, our destined goal, was yet full fifteen miles 



256 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

to the northeast, we pressed on for the capital. And 
there, in fact, we sliould liave all arrived in a body 
before day-dawn, had not a singular occurrence re- 
tarded by far the greater number of our companions. 
" Soon after, the crags in our rear had shut out, 
perhaps for years, perhaps forever, the desert and 
Central Arabia fi-om our view, while before and 
around us lay the indistinct undulations and uncer- 
tain breaks of the great Hasa plain, when on a slop- 
ing bank at a short distance in front we discerned 
certain large black patches, in strong contrast with 
the white glister of the soil around, and at the same 
time our attention was attracted by a strange whiz- 
zing like that of a flight of hornets, close along the 
ground, while our dromedaries capered and started 
as though struck with sudden insanity. The cause 
of all this was a vast swarm of locusts, here alighted 
in their northerly wanderings from their birthplace 
in the Dahna ; their camp extended far and wide, 
and M'e had already disturbed their outposts. These 
insects are wont to settle on the ground after sunset, 
and there, half stupefied by the night chill, to await 
the morning rays, which warm them once more into 
life and movement. This time our dromedaries did 
the work of the sun, and it would be hard to say 
which of the two were the most frightened, they or 
the locusts. It was truly laughable to see so huge a 
beast lose his wits for fear at the flight of a harmless, 
stingless insect ; of all timid creatures none equals 
the * ship of the desert ' for cowardice. 

" The swarm now before us was a thorough god- 
send for our Arabs, on no account to be neglected. 



ESCAPE FROM BI'AD 257 

Tliirst, weariness, all was forgotten, and down the 
riders leapt from their starting camels ; this one 
spread out a cloak, that one a saddle-bag, a third 
his shirt, over the nnlucky creatures destined for the 
morrow's meal. Some flew away whirring across 
our feet, others were caught and tied up in cloths 
and sacks. Cornish wreckers at work about a shat- 
tered East Indiaman would be beaten by Ghannam 
and his companions with the locusts. However, 
Barakat and myself felt no special interest in the 
chase, nor had we much desire to turn our dress and 
accoutrements into receptacles for living game. 
Luckily Aboo-'Eysa still retained enough of his 
North Syrian education to be of our mind also. Ac- 
cordingly we left our associates hard at work, turned 
our startled and still unruly dromedaries in the di- 
rection of H of hoof, and set oif full speed over the 
plain. 

" It was not till near morning that we saw before 
us in indistinct row the long black lines of the im- 
mense date-groves that surround Hofhoof. Then, 
winding on amid rice-grounds and cornfields, we left 
on our right an isolated fort (to be described by day- 
light), passed some scattered villas, with their gardens, 
approached the ruined town walls, and entered the 
southern gate, now open and unguarded. Farther 
on a few streets brought us before the door of Aboo- 
'Eysa's house, our desired resting-place. 

" It was still night. All was silent in the street 
and house, at the entrance of which we now stood ; 
indeed, none but the master of a domicile could 
think of knocking at such an hour, nor was Aboo- 



258 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

'Eysa expected at that precise moment. Witli much 
difficulty he contrived to awake the tenants; next 
the shrill voice of the lady was heard within in ac- 
cents of joy and welcome ; the door at last opened, 
and Aboo-'Eysa invited us into a dark passage, 
where a gas-light would have been a remarkable im- 
provement, and by this ushered us into the k'hawah. 
Here we lighted a fire, and after a hasty refreshment 
all lay down to sleep, nor awoke till the following 
forenoon." 



CHAPTER XYI. 

PALGRAVE'S TRAVELS— EASTERN ARABIA 

"/^^UR stay at Hofhoof was very pleasant and in- 
V-y teresting, not indeed through personal inci- 
dents and hairbreadth escapes — of which we liad onr 
fair portion at Ri'ad and elsewhere — but in the in- 
formation here acquired, and in the novel character 
of everything around us, whether nature, art, or man. 
Aboo-'Eysa was very anxious that we should see as 
much as possible of the country, and procured us all 
means requisite for so doing, while the shelter of his 
roof, and the precautions which he adopted or sug- 
gested, obviated whatever dangers and inconveniences 
we had experienced in former stages of the journey. 
Besides, the general disposition of the inhabitants of 
Hasa is very different from that met with in Nedjed, 
and even in Shomer or Djowf, and much better 
adapted to make a stranger feel himself at home. A 
sea-coast people, looking mainly to foreign lands and 
the ocean for livelihood and commerce, accustomed 
to see among them not unfrequently men of dress, 
manners, and religion different from their own, many 
of them themselves travellers or voyagers to Basrah, 
Bagdad, Bahreyn, Oman, and some even farther, 
they are commonly free from that half -wondering, 



260 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

half- suspicions feeling which the sight of a stranger 
occasions in the isolated, desert-girded centre. In. 
short, experience, that best of masters, has gone far 
to unteach the lessons of ignorance, intolerance, and 
national aversion. 

Hofhoof, whose ample circuit contained during the 
last generation about thirty thousand inhabitants, uow 
dwindled to twenty-three or twenty-four thousand, is 
divided into three quarters or districts. The general 
form of the town is that of a large oval. The public 
square, an oblong space of about three hundred yai-ds 
in length by a fourth of the same in width, occupies 
the meeting point of these quartei's ; the Ivot lies on 
its northeast, the Rifey'eeyah on the northwest and 
west, and the Na'athar on the east and south. In 
this last quarter was our present home ; moreover, it 
stood in the part farthest removed from the Kot and 
its sinister influences, while it was also sufficiently 
distant from the overturbulent neighborhood of the 
Rifey'eeyah, the centre of anti-Wahabee movements, 
and the name of which alone excited distrust and un- 
easiness in Nedjean minds. 

" The Kot itself is a vast citadel, surrounded by a 
deep trench, with walls and towers of unusual height 
and thickness, earth-built, with an occasional inter- 
mixture of stone, the work of the old Carmathian 
rulers ; it is nearly square, being about one-third of 
a mile in length by one-quarter in breadth. 

" On the opposite side of the square, and conse- 
quently belonging to the Rifey'eeyah, is the vaulted 
market-place, or * Keysareeyah,' a name by which con- 
structions of this nature must henceforth be called up 



EASTERN ARABIA 261 

to Mascat itself, tliougli how this Latinism found its 
way across the peninsula to lands which seem to have 
had so little commerce with the Roman or Byzantine 
empires, I cannot readily conjecture. This Key- 
sareeyah is in form a long barrel-vaulted arcade, with 
a portal at either end ; the folding doors that should 
protect the entrances have here in Hofhoof been 
taken away, elsewhere they are always to be found. 
The sides are composed of shops, set apart in general 
for wares of cost, or at least what is here esteemed 
costly ; thus, weapons, cloth embroidery, gold and 
silver ornament, and analogous articles, are the or- 
dinary stock-in-hand in the Keysareeyah. Around 
it cluster several alleys, roofed with palm-leaves 
against the heat, and tolerably symmetrical ; in the 
shops we may see the merchandise of Bahreyn, 
Oman, Persia, and India exposed for sale, mixed with 
the manufactured produce of the country ; workshops, 
smithies, carpenters' and shoemakers' stalls, and the 
like, are here also. In the open square itself stand 
countless booths for the sale of dates, vegetables, 
wood, salted locusts, and small ware of many kinds. 

" The Rifey'eeyah, or noble quarter, covers a con- 
siderable extent, and is chiefly composed of tolerable, 
in some places of even handsome, dwellings. The 
comparative elegance of domestic architecture in Hof- 
hoof is due to the use of the arch, which, after the 
long interval from Ma'an to Hasa, now at last reap- 
pears, and gives to the constructions of this province 
a lightness and a variety unknown in the monotonous 
and heavy piles of Nedjed and Shomer. Another 
improvement is that the walls, whether of earth or 



262 . TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

stone, or of both mixed, as is often the case, are here 
very generally coated with fine white plaster, much 
resembling the ' chunam ' of Soutliern India ; orna- 
ment, too, is aimed at about the doorways and the 
ogee-headed windows, and is sometimes attained. 

" The Na'athar is the largest quarter ; it forms, in- 
deed, a good half of the town, and completes its oval. 
In it every description of dwelling is to be seen — for 
rich and poor, for high and low, palace or hovel. 
Here, too, but near the Kot, has the pious policy of 
Feysul constructed the great mosque. 

" But perhaps my reader, after accompanying me 
thus far, may feel thirsty, for the heat, even in De- 
cember, is almost oppressive, and the sky cloudless 
as though it were June or July. So let us turn aside 
into that grassy plantation, where half a dozen buffa- 
loes are cooling their ugly hides in a pool, and drink 
a little from the source that supplies it. When be- 
liold ! the water is warm, almost hot. Do not be 
surprised ; all the fountain sources and wells of Ilasa 
are so, more or less ; in some one can hardly bear to 
plunge one's hand ; others are less above the average 
temperature, while a decidedly sulphurous taste is 
now and then perceptible. In fact, from the ex- 
treme north of this province down to its southern- 
most frontier, this same sign of subterranean fire is 
everywhere to be found. The rocks, too, are here 
very frequently of tufa and basalt, another mark of 
igneous agency. 

" The products of Hasa are many and various ; the 
monotony of Arab vegetation, its eternal palm and 
ithel, ithel and palm, are here varied by new foliage, 



EASTERN ARABIA 263 

and growths unknown to Nedjed and Shomer. True, 
the date-pahn still predominates, nay, here attains its 
greatest perfection. But the nabak, with its rounded 
leaves and little crab-apple fruit, a mere bush in Cen- 
tral Arabia, becomes in Hasa a stately tree ; the pa- 
pay, too, so well known in the more easterly penin- 
sula, appears, though seldom, and stunted in growth, 
along with some other trees, common on the coast 
from Cutch to Bombay. Indigo is here cultivated, 
tliough not sufficiently for the demands of commerce ; 
cotton is much more widely grown than in Yemamah ; 
rice fields abound, and the sugar-cane is often planted, 
though not, I believe, for the extraction of the sugar. 
The peasants of Hasa sell the reed by retail bundles 
in the market-place, and the purchasers take it home 
to gnaw at leisure in their houses. Corn, maize, mil- 
let, vetches of every kind, radishes, onions, garlic, 
beans, in short, almost all legumina and cei'ealia, bar- 
ley excepted (at least I neither saw nor heard of any), 
cover the plain, and under a better administration 
might be multiplied tenfold. 

" The climate of Hasa, as I have already implied, 
is very different from that of the uplands, and not 
equally favorable to health and physical activity. 
Hence, a doctor, like myself, if my readers will 
allow me the title, has here more work and better 
fees ; this latter circumstance is also owing to the 
greater amount of ready money in circulation, and 
the higher value set on medical science by men 
whose intellects are much more cultivated than those 
of their Nedjean neighbors. In appearance, the. 
inhabitants of Hasa are generally good-sized and 



264 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

well-proportioned, but soinewliat sallow in the face, 
and of a less muscular development than is usual 
inland ; their features, though regular, are less 
marked than those of the I^edjeans, and do not ex- 
hibit the same half-Jewish type. On the contrary, 
there is something in them that reminds a beholder 
of the Rajpoot or the Guzeratee, Thej are passion- 
ately fond of literature and poetry. 

"I have already said that our great endeavor in 
Hasa was to observe unobserved, and thus to render 
our time as barren as might be in incidents and 
catastrophes. Not that we went into the opposite 
extreme of leading an absolutely retired and there- 
fore uneven tfullife. Aboo-'Eysa took care from the 
first to bring us into contact with the best and the 
most cultivated families of the town, nor had my 
medical profession anywhere a wider range for its 
exercise, or better success than in Hofhoof. Fi'iendly 
invitations, now to dinner, now to supper, were of 
daily occurrence ; and we sat at tables where fish, 
no longer mere salted shrimps, announced our vicin- 
ity to the coast ; vermicelli, too, and other kinds of 
pastry, denoted the influence of Persian art on the 
kitchen. Smoking within doors was general ; but 
the nargheelah often replaced, and that advanta- 
geously, the short Arab pipe ; perfumes are no less 
here in use than in JSTedjed. 

" We had passed about a week in the town when 
Aboo-'Eysa entered the side room where Barakat 
and I were enjoying a moment of quiet, and copying 
out ' ISTabtee ' poetry, and shut the door behind him. 
He then announced to us, with a face and tone of 



EASTERN ARABIA 265 

serious anxiety, tliat two of the principal Ned jean 
agents belonging to tlie Kot had just come into the 
Ic'liawah, under pretext of medical consultation, but 
in reality, said he, to identify the strangers. We put 
on our cloaks — a preliminary measure of decorum 
equivalent to face- and hand-washing in Europe — and 
presented ourselves before our inquisitors with an 
air of conscious innocence and scientific solemnity. 
Conversation ensued, and we talked so learnedly 
about bilious and sanguine complexions, cephalic 
veins, and Indian drugs, with such apposite citations 
from the Koran, and such loyal phi-ases for Feysul, 
tliat Aboo-'Eysa was beside himself for joy ; and the 
spies, after receiving some prescriptions of the bread- 
pill and aromatic-water formula, left the house no 
wiser than before. Our friends, too, and they wei-e 
now many, well guessing what we might really be, 
partly from our own appeai-ance and partly from the 
known character of our host (according to old 
Homer's true saying, Heaven always leads liJce to 
like), did eacli and all their best to throw sand into 
Wahabee eyes, and everything went on sociably and 
smoothly. A blessing on the medical profession ! 
None other gives such excellent opportunities for se- 
curing everywhere confidence and friendship. 

" Before we leave Hasa I must add a few remarks 
to complete the sketch given of the province and of 
its inhabitants. Want of a suitable opportunity for 
inserting them before has thrown them together at 
this point of my narrative. 

" My fair readers will be pleased to learn that the 
veil and other restraints inflicted on the gentle sex 
18 



266' TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

by Islamitic rigorism, not to say worse, are mncli less 
universal, and more easily dispensed with in Hasa ; 
while in addition, the ladies of the land enjoy a re- 
markable share of those natural gifts which no insti- 
tutions, and even no cosmetics, can confer ; namely, 
beauty of face and elegance of form. Might I vent- 
ure on the delicate and somewhat invidious task of 
constructing a ' beauty-scale ' for Arabia, and for 
Arabia alone, the Bedouin women wonld, on this 
kalometer, be represented by zero, or at most 1° ; a 
degree higher would represent the female sex of ISTed- 
jed ; above them rank the women of Shomer, who are 
in their tnrn surmounted by those of Djowf . The fif tli 
or sixth degree symbolizes the fair ones of liasa ; the 
seventh those of Katar ; and lastly, by a sudden rise 
of ten degrees at least, the seventeenth or eighteenth 
would denote the pre-eminent beauties of Oman. 
Arab poets occasionally languish after the charmers 
of Hedjaz ; I never saw anyone to charm me, but 
then I only skirted the province. All bear witness 
to the absence of female loveliness in Yemen ; and I 
should much doubt whether the mulatto races and 
dusky complexions of Hadramaut have much to vaunt 
of. But in Hasa a decided improvement on this im- 
portant point is agreeably evident to the traveller 
arriving from Nedjed, and he will be yet further de- 
lighted on finding his Calypsos much more conversi- 
ble, and having much more, too, in their conversa- 
tion than those he left behind him in Sedeyr and 
'Aared. 

" During our stay at Hofhoof, Aboo-'Eysa left un- 
tried no arts of Arab rhetoric and persuasion to de- 



EASTERN ARABIA 267 

termine me to visit Oman, assuring me again and 
again that whatever we had yet seen, even in his 
favorite Hasa, was nothing compared to wliat re- 
mained to see in that more remote country. My 
companion, tired of our long journey, and thinking 
the long distance already laid between him and his 
Syrian home quite sufficient in itself without further 
leagues tacked on to it, was very little disposed for 
a supplementary expedition. Englishmen, on the 
contrary, are rovers by descent and habit ; my own 
mind was now fully made up to visit Oman at all 
risks, whether Barakat came with me or not. Mean- 
while, we formed our plan for the next immediate 
stage of our route. My companion and I were to 
quit Hofhoof togethei-, leaving Aboo-'Eysa behind 
us for a week or two at Hasa, while we journeyed 
northward to Kateef, and thence took ship for the 
town of Menamah in Bahreyn. In this latter place 
Aboo-'Eysa was to rejoin us. Our main reason for 
thus separating our movements in time and in direc- 
tion, was to avoid the too glaring appearance of act- 
ing in concert while yet in a land under Wahabee 
government and full of Wahabee spies and reporters, 
especially after the suspicions thrown on us at Ri'ad. 
The Oman arangements were to be deferred till we 
should all meet again. 

" Barakat and inyself prepared for our departure ; 
we purchased a few objects of local curiosity, got in 
our dues of medical attendance, paid and received 
the customary P. P. 0. visits, and even tendered our 
respects to the negro governor Belal, where he sat 
at his palace door in the Kot, holding a public au- 



268 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

dience, and looking mnch like any other well-dressed 
black. No passport was required for setting out on 
the road to Kateef, which in the eyes of government 
forms only one and the same province with Hasa, 
though in many respects very different from it. 
The road is perfectly secure ; plundering Bedouins 
or highway robbers are here out of the question. 
However, we stood in need of companions, not for 
escort, but as guides. Aboo-'Eysa made inquiries in 
the town, and found three men who chanced to be 
just then setting out on their way for Kateef, who 
readily consented to join band with us for the road. 
Our Abyssinian hostess supplied us with a whole 
sack of provisions, and our Hofhoof associates found 
us in camels. Thus equipped and mounted, we took 
an almost touching leave of Aboo-'Eysa's good- 
natured wife, kissed the baby, exchanged an mi re- 
voir with its father, and set out on the afternoon of 
December 19th, leaving behind us many pleasant 
acquaintances, from some of whom I received mes- 
sages and letters while at Bahreyn. So far as in- 
habitants are concerned, to no town in Arabia should 
I return with equal confidence of finding a hearty 
greeting and a welcome reception, than to Plofhoof 
and its amiable and intelligent merchants. 

" We quitted the town by the northeastern gate of 
the Rifey-'eeyah, where the fiiends, who, according 
to Arab custom, had accompanied us thus far in a 
sort of procession, wished us a prosperous journey, 
took a last adieu, and returned home. After some 
hours we bi%'Ouacked on a little hillock of clean sand, 
with the dark line of the Hofhoof woods on our 



EASTEUN ARABIA 269 

left, while at some distance in front a copious foun- 
tain poured out its rushing waters with a noise dis- 
tinctly audible in the stillness of the night, and ir- 
rigated a garden worthy of Damascus or Antioch. 
The night air was temperate, neither cold like that 
of Nedjed, nor stifling like that of Southern India ; 
the sky clear and starry. From our commanding 
position on the hill I could distinguish Soheyl or 
Canopus, now setting ; and following him, not far 
above the horizon, the three upper stars of the 
Southern Cross, an old Indian acquaintance ; two 
months later in Oman I had the view of the entire 
constellation. 

"Kext morning we traversed a large plain of light 
and sandy soil, intersected by occasional ridges of 
basalt and sandstone. 

" We journeyed on all day, meeting no Bedouins 
and few travellers. At evening we encamped in a 
shallow valley, near a cluster of brimming wells, 
some sweet, some brackish, where the traces of half- 
obliterated watercourses and the vestiges of crumbling 
house-walls indicated the former existence of a village, 
now also deserted. We passed a comfortable night 
under the shelter of palms and high brushwood, 
mixed with gigantic aloes and yuccas, and rose next 
morning early to our way. Our direction lay north- 
east. In the afternoon we caught our first glimpse 
of Djebel Mushahhar, a pyramidicalpeak some seven 
hundred feet high and about ten miles south of 
Kateef. But the sea, though I looked toward it and 
for it with an easfei'uess somewhat resembling that 
of the Ten Thousand on their approach to the Eux- 



270 TEA VEL8 IN ARABIA 

ine, remained slint out from view by a further con- 
tinuation of the heights. 

" Next day we rose at dawn, and crossed the hills 
of Kateef by a long winding path, till after some 
hours of labyrinthine track we came in sight of the 
dark plantation-line that girdles Kateef itself land- 
ward. The sea lies immediately beyond ; this we 
knew, but we could not obtain a glimpse of its waters 
through the verdant curtain stretched between. 

" About midday we descended the last slope, a 
steep sandstone cliff, which looks as though it had 
been the sea-limit of a former period. We now stood 
on the coast itself. Its level is as nearly as pos- 
sible that of the Gulf beyond ; a few feet of a 
higher tide than usual would cover it up to the cliffs. 
Hence it is a decidedly unhealthy land, though fertile 
and even populous ; but the inhabitants are mostly 
w^eak in frame and sallow in complexion. The at- 
mosphere was thick and oppressive, the heat intense, 
and the vegetation hung rich and heavy around ; my 
companions talked about suffocation, and I remem- 
bered once more the Indian coast. Another hour of 
afternoon march brought us to Kateef itself, at its 
western portal ; a high stone arch of elegant form, 
and flanked by walls and towers, but all dismantled 
and ruinous. Close by the two burial-grounds, one 
for the people of the land, the other for the Nedjean 
rulers and colony — divided even after death by mu- 
tual hatred and anathema. Folly, if you will, but 
folly not peculiar to the East. 

" The town itself is crowded, damp, and dirty, and 
has altogether a gloomy, what for want of a better 



EASTERN ARABIA 271 

epithet I would call a mouldy, look ; much business 
was going on in the market and streets, but tlie ill- 
favored and very un-Arab look of the shopkeepers 
and workmen confirms what historj' tells of the Per- 
sian colonization of this city. Indeed, the inhabitants 
of the entire district, but more especially of the capi- 
tal, are a mongrel race, in which Persian blood pre- 
dominates, mixed with that of Bassora, Bagdad, and 
the 'Irak. 

" We urged our starting dromedaries across the 
open square in front of the market-place, traversed 
the town in its width, which is scarce a quarter of its 
length (like other coast towns), till we emerged from 
the, opposite gate, and then looked out with greedy 
eyes for the sea, now scarce ten minutes distant. In 
vain as yet, so low lies the land, and so thick cluster 
the trees. But after a turn or two we came along- 
side of the outer walls, belonging to the huge fortress 
of Karmoot, and immediately afterward the valley 
opening out showed us almost at our feet the dead 
shallow flats of the bay. How different from the 
bright waters of the Mediterranean, all glitter and 
life, where we had bidden them farewell eight 
months before at Gaza ! Like a leaden sheet, half 
ooze, half sedge, the muddy sea lay in view, wave- 
less, motionless ; to our left the massive walls of the 
castle went down almost to the water's edge, and then 
turned to leave a narrow esplanade between its cir- 
cuit and the Gulf. On this ledge were ranged a few 
rusty guns of large calibre, to show how the place 
was once guarded ; and just in front of the main gate 
a crumbling outwork, which a single cannon-shot 



272 TRA VELS IN ARABIA 

would level with the ground, displayed six pieces of 
honey-combed artilleiy, their months pointing sea- 
ward. Long stone benches without invited us to leave 
our camels crouching on the esplanade, while we 
seated ourselves and rested a little before requesting 
tlie governor to grant us a day's hospitality, and per- 
mission to embark for Bahreyn. 

" Barakat and I sat still to gaze, speculating on the 
difference between the two sides of Arabia. But our 
companions, like true Arabs, thought it high time for 
' refreshment,' and accordingly began their inquiries 
at the castle-gate where the governor might be, and 
whether he was to be spoken to. When, behold ! the 
majesty of Feysul's vicegerent issuing in person from 
his palace to visit the new man-of-war. My aboli- 
tionist friends will be gratified to learn that this ex- 
alted dignitary is, no less than he of Hofhoof, a 
negro, brought up from a cui'ly-headed imp to a 
woolly-headed black in Feysul's own palace, and now 
governor of the most important harbor owned by 
Nedjed on the Persian Gulf, and of the town once 
capital of that fierce dynasty which levelled the Kaa- 
bah with the dust, and filled Kateef with the plunder 
of Yemen and Syria. Farhat, to give him his proper 
name, common among those of his complexion, was a 
fine tall negro of about fifty years old, good-natured, 
chatty, hospitable, and furnished with perhaps a trifle 
more than the average amount of negro intellect. 

" Aboo-'Eysa, who had friends and acquaintances 
everywhere, and whose kindly manner made him 
always a special favorite with negroes high or low, 
had furnished us with an introductory letter to Far- 



EASTEBJSr ARABIA 273 

hat, intended to make matters smooth for our future 
route. But as matters went there was little need of 
caution. The fortunate coincidence of a strong north 
wind, just then blowing down the Gulf, gave a satis- 
factory reason for not embarking on board of a Bas- 
sora cruiser, while it rendered a voyage to Bahreyn, 
our real object, equally specious and easy. Besides, 
Farhat himself, who was a good, easy-going sort of 
man, had hardly opened Aboo-'Eysa's note, than 
without more ado he bade us a hearty welcome, 
ordered our luggage to be brought .within the castle 
precincts, and requested us to step in ourselves and 
take a cup of coffee, awaiting his return for further 
conversation after his daily visit of inspection to 
FeysuPs abridged fleet. 

" The next day passed, partly in Farhat's k'hawah, 
partly in strolling about the castle, town, gardens, 
and beach, making, meanwhile, random inquiries 
after boats aiid boatmen. 

"It was noon when we fell in with a ship captain, 
ready to sail that very night, wind and tide permit- 
ting. Farhat's men had spoken with him, and he 
readily offered to take us on board. We then paid a 
visit to the custom-house officer to settle the em- 
barkation dues for men and goods. This foreman of 
the Ma'asher, whether in accordance witli orders 
from Farhat, or of his own free will and inclination, 
I know not, proved wonderfully gracious, and de- 
clared that to take a farthing of duty from such nse- 
f ul servants of the public as doctors, would be ' sheyn 
vv' khata',' ' shame and sin.' Alas, that European 
custom house officials should be far removed from 



274 TRAVEL8 IN ARABIA 

such generous and patriotic sentiments ! Lastly, of 
his own accord he furnislied us with men to carry our 
baggage through knee-deep water and thigh-deep 
mud to the little cutter, where she lay some fifty 
yards from shore. Evening now came on, and Far- 
hat sent for us to congratulate us, but with a polite 
regret on having found so speedy conveyance for our 
voyage. Meanwhile he let us understand how he 
was himself invited for the evening to snpper with a 
rich merchant of the town, and that we were expected 
to join the party ; nor need that make us anxious 
about our passage, since our ship captain was also in- 
vited, nor could the vessel possibly sail before the full 
tide at midnight. 

" From our town supper we returned by torchlight 
to the castle ; our baggage, no great burden, had 
been already taken down to the sea gate, where stood 
two of the captain's men waiting for us. In their 
company we descended to the beach, and then with 
garments tucked up to the waist waded to the vessel, 
not without difficult}-, for the tide was rapidly com- 
ing in, and we had almost to swim for it. At last 
we reached the ship and scrambled up her side ; 
most heartily glad was I to find myself at sea once 
more on the other side of Arabia." 

After a slow voyage of three days Palgrave 
I'eached Bahreyn, the headquarters of the pearl fish- 
eries, and established hiniself in the little town of 
Moharrek, to wait for the arrival of Aboo-'Eysa be- 
fore undertaking his projected exploration of Oman. 
He and his companion enjoyed a grateful feeling of 
rest and security in this seaport among the sailoi'S, to 



EASTERN ARABIA 275 

whom all varieties of foreigners were well known, 
and who, having no prejudices, felt no suspicion. 

On January 9, 1863, Aboo-'Eysa arrived, and 
after much earnest consultation the following plan 
was adopted : Aboo-'Eysa was to send twenty loads 
of the best Ilasa dates, and a handsome mantle, 
as presents to the Sultan of Oman, with three ad- 
ditional mantles for tlie three chiefs whose terri- 
tories intervened between Bahreyn and Muscat. 
Palgrave was to accompany these gifts, under his 
character of a skilled physician in quest of certain 
rare and mysterious herbs of Oman. Meanwhile, 
Aboo-'Eysa and Barakat would take passage for 
Aboo-Shahr (Busheer), in Persia, where the former 
would be employed for three months in making up 
his next caravan of Mecca pilgrims. Here Palgrave 
was to rejoin them after his journey. 

In place of Barakat his companion was a curious 
individual named Yoosef, whom Aboo-'Eysa had res- 
cued from misery and maintained in a decent condi- 
tion. He was a native of Hasa, half a jester and 
half a knave ; witty, reckless, hai-e brained to the last 
degree, full of jocose or pathetic stories, of poetry, 
traditions, and fun of every description. When 
everything had been arranged the four parted com- 
pany, Palgrave and his new companion sailing for 
the port of Bedaa', on the Arabian coast, where re- 
sided the fii'st of the three chiefs whose protection it 
was necessary to secure. They reached there after a 
cruise of five or six days, finding the place very bar- 
ren and desolate, with scarcely a tree or a garden ; 
but, as the chief said to Palgrave, "We are all, from 



270 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

the highest to tlie lowest, the slaves of one master — 
Pearl." The bay contains the best pearl-fishery on 
the coast, and the town depends for its existence on 
the trade in these gems. 

The chief was intelligent and friendly, and appears 
to have interposed no obstacle to the proposed jom*- 
ney into the interior, but Palgrave decided to go on 
by sea to the town of Sharjah, on the northern side 
o£ the peninsula of Oman. Embarking again on 
February 6tli, the vessel was driven by violent vrinds 
across to the Persian shore, and ten days elapsed be- 
fore it was possible to reach Sharjah. Here, again, 
although their reception was hospitable, the travellers 
gave up their land journey and re-embarked in an- 
other vessel to pass around the peninsula, through 
the Straits of Ormuz, and land on the southern shore, 
in the territory of Muscat. 

In three days they reached the island of Ormuz, 
of which Palgrave says : " I was not at all sorry to 
have an opportunity of visiting an island once so re- 
nowned for its commerce, and of which its Portu- 
guese occupants used to say, ' that, were the woi'ld a 
golden ring Ormuz would be the diamond signet.' 
The general appearance of Ormuz indicates an ex- 
tinguished volcano, and such I believe it really is ; 
the circumference consists of a wide oval wall, 
formed by steep crags, fire-worn and ragged ; these 
enclose a central basin, where grow shrubs and grass ; 
the basaltic slopes of the outer barrier run in many 
places clean down into the sea, an]id splinter-like 
pinnacles and fantastic crags of many colors, like 
those which lava often assumes on cooling. Between 



EASTERN ARABIA 277 

the west and north a long triangular promontory, 
low and level, advances to a considerable distance, 
and narrows into a neck of land, which is terminated 
bv a few rocks and a strong fortress, the work of 
Poi'tngnese bnilders, but worthy of taking rank 
among Roman ruins — so solid are the walls, so com- 
pact the masonry and well-selected brickwork, against 
which three long centuries of sea-storm have broken 
themselves in vain. The greater part of the promon- 
tory itself is covered with ruins. Here stood the once 
thriving town, now a confused extent of desolate 
lieaps, amid which the vestiges of sevei-al fine dwell- 
ings, of baths, and of a large church may yet be 
clearly made out. Close by the fort cluster a hun- 
dred or more wretched earth-hovels, the abode of 
fishermen or shepherds, whose flocks pasture within 
the crater ; one single shed, where dried dates, rai- 
sins, and tobacco are exposed for sale, is all that now 
remains of the trade of Ormuz." 

After being detained three days at Ormuz by a 
storm, the vessel passed through the Strait, skirted 
the southern coast of the peninsula, and reached the 
harbor of Sohar on March 3d. Palgrave deter- 
mined to set off with Yoosef the same evening on 
the land-journey of eight or nine days to Muscat ; but 
ho had already lost so much time by delays since 
leaving Bahreyn that he yielded to the persuasions of 
the captain of another vessel, who promised to take 
him to Muscat by sea in two days. He sailed on the 
6th, weighed down with a vague presentiment of 
coming evil, which was soon to be justified. His 
wanderings in Arabia, and also in this world, very 



278 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

nearly came to an end. The vessel slowly glided on 
for two days, and Muscat was almost in sight when a 
dead, ominous calm befell them near the Sowadah 
Islands — some low reefs of barren rocks, about three 
leagues from shore. It proved to be a calm, ominous 
indeed for Palgrave, as well as for the captain of the 
vessel and all on board. It was followed by a furious 
storm that ended in the wreck of the dhow, and the 
loss of several lives, together with the entire outfit of 
the expedition. Palgrave and the survivors of the 
crew and passengers, nine in number, barely escaped 
with their lives, and reached the shore utterly ex- 
hausted, wdth nothing but the shirts they wore. 

In sorry plight the traveller made his way along 
the coast to Muscat. He was obliged to give up the 
idea of exploring the interior of Oman, partly on ac- 
count of the loss of the stores but chiefly because his 
identity as a European had been disclosed ; and so 
in this disastrous manner ended the most important 
and interesting journey that had yet been made by 
any traveller in Arabia. 



CHAPTER XYIL 

LADY BLUNT'S PILGKIMAGE TO NEJD 

IiS^ 1878-79, sixteen years after Palgrave's journey, 
Lady Anne Blunt, witli her husband and several 
native servants, accomplished a journey, which, in 
many respects was more remarkable than the exploits 
of any of their predecessors. Whereas Palgrave and 
others had travelled in disguise, believing it impossi- 
ble to penetrate into the interior otherwise than as 
mussulmans, the Blunts made no pretences of the 
kind, but went as European travellers, desirous of 
seeing the country, and visiting its rulers. They tra- 
versed the whole breadth of the peninsula, f I'om Bey- 
rout on the Mediterranean coast, to Bagdad on the 
Tigris, crossing the Great JSTefood, or central desert, 
and visiting Hail, Jebel Shammer, and other places 
in Nejd.* 

On their return Lady Blunt published the remark- 
ably interesting story of their adventures, under the 
title of "A Pilgrimage to Nejd," a book which 
added greatly to our knowledge of the Arabian in- 

* It is well to point out here that Palgrave and Lady Blunt 
spell the names of places quite differently, which makes it rather 
difficult at times to identify them as referring to places mutually 
visited. Thus, Blunt's "Hail" and Palgrave's " Ha'yel " are 
one; as are also "Jof" and "Djowf." Other differences are 
<• Najd," " Nejed," " Djebel Shomer," " Jebel Shammer," etc. 



280 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

terior, and to which the compiler of this chapter is 
largely indebted. 

The travellers entered upon their adventurous un- 
dertaking with the advantage of experiences gained 
on a previous journey among the Arab tribes of the 
Euphrates Yalley, and a knowledge of the Arab 
tongue. Their native servants, who had accompanied 
them on their previous expedition, eagerly joined 
their service for the new venture ; camels, horses, and 
all necessarj' supplies for the journey were purchased 
at Damascus, and on December 12th, 1879, the start 
was made. 

Though unwilling to travel under false colors as to 
race or nationality, the English travellers found it 
convenient to adopt the Bedouin costume for the de- 
sert journey, to avoid attracting more notice than was 
necessary. Their first objective point was Jof, an 
important oasis in the desert, four hundred miles 
-away. Lady Blunt, describing the start from Damas- 
cus, says : 

" At first we skirted the city, passing the gate 
where St. Paul is said to have entered, and the place 
where he got over the wall, and then along the sub- 
urb of Maidan, which is the quarter occupied by 
Bedouins when they come to town, and where we had 
found the Tudmuri and our camels. Here we were 
to have met the Jerdeh, and we waited some time 
outside the Bawabat Allah, or ' Gates of God,' while 
Mohammed went in to make inquiries and take leave 
of his Tudmuri friends. 

" It is in front of this gate that the pilgrims assem- 
ble on the day of their start for Mecca, and from it 



LADT BLUNT '8 PILGRIMAGE 281 

tlie Haj road leads away in a nearly straight line 
southward. The Haj road is to be onr route as far 
as Mezarib, and is a broad, well-worn track, though* 
of course not a road at all according to English ideas. 
It has, nevertheless, a sort of romantic interest, one 
cannot help feeling, going as it does so far and 
through such desolate lands, a track so many thou- 
sand travellers have followed never to return. I sup- 
pose in its long history a grave may have been dug 
for every yard of its course from Damascus to Me- 
dina, for, especially on the return journey, there are 
constantly deaths among the pilgrims from weari- 
ness and insufficient food." 

A leisurely journey of a week brought the party 
to Salkhad, a Druse community at the edge of the 
desert, where Huseyn, the Sheykh of the Druses 
provided them with guides to the Ivaf oasis, a five 
days' journey into the desert. On the way to Kaf 
they passed areas of sand, white as snow, and encoun- 
tered violent sand-storms, in one of which they lost a 
camel who seized his opportunity to escape back to 
Mezarib. Beyond Kaf they met with rather a thrill- 
ing adventure, which is thus graphically described : 

" Friday, January 3d. — We have had an adven- 
ture at last, and rather a disagreeable one ; a severe 
lesson as to the danger of encamping near wells. "We 
started early, but were delayed a whole hour at 
Jerawi taking water, and did not leave the wells till 
nearly eight o'clock. Then we turned back nearly 
due east across the wady. The soil of pure white 
sand was heavy going, and we vi^ent slowly, crossing 

low undulations without other landmark than the 
19 



282 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

tells we had left behind us. Here and there rose 
little mounds, tufted with ghada. To one of these 
Wilfrid and I cantered on, leaving the camels behind 
us, and dismounting, tied our mares to the bushes, 
that we might enjoy a few minutes' rest and eat our 
midday mouthful ; the greyhounds meanwhile played 
about and chased each other in the sand. 

" We had finished, and were talking of I know not 
what, when the camels passed us. They were hardly 
a couple of hundred yards in front, when suddenly 
we heard a thud, thud, thad, on the sand, a sound of 
galloping. Wilfrid jumped to his feet, looked 
round, and called out : ' Get on your mare. This is 
a ghazti ! ' 

" As I scrambled round the bush to my mare, I 
saw a troop of horsemen charging down at full gal- 
lop with their lances, not two hundred yards off. 
Wilfrid was up as he spoke, and so should I have 
been but for my sprained knee and the deep sand, 
both of which gave way as I was rising. I fell back. 
There was no time to think, and I had hardly strug- 
gled to my feet when the enemy was upon us, and I 
was knocked down by a spear. Then they all turned 
on Wilfrid, who had waited for me, some of them 
jumping down on foot to get hold of his mare's hal- 
ter. He had my gun with him, which I had just 
before handed to him, but unloaded, his own gun 
and his sword being on his deliil (riding camel). He 
fortunately had on very thick clothes, two abbas one 
over the other, and English clothes underneath, so 
the lances did him no harm. At last his assailants 
managed to get his gun from him and broke it over 



LADY BLUNT 'S PILGRIMAGE 283 

his head, hitting him three times and smashing the 
stock. 

" Resistance seemed to me useless, and I shouted 
to the nearest liorseman, ' A^ia dahilak ' (I am im- 
der your protection), the usual form of surrender. 
Wilfrid hearing this, and thinking he had liad 
enough of this unequal contest, one against twelve, 
threw himself off his mare. The Khayal (horse- 
men) having seized both the mares, paused, and as 
soon as they had gathered breath, began to ask us 
who we were and where we came from. 

" ' English, and we have come from Damascus,' 
we replied, ' and our camels are close by. Come 
with us and you shall hear about it.' 

" Our caravan, while all this had happened, and it 
only lasted about five minutes, had formed itself into 
a square, and the camels were kneeling down, as we 
could plainly see from where we were. I hardly ex- 
pected the horsemen to do as we asked, but the man 
who seemed to be their leader at once let us walk on 
(a process causing me acute pain), and followed witli 
the others to the caravan. We found Mohammed 
and the rest of our party entrenched behind tlie 
camels with their guns pointed, and as we approached, 
Mohammed stepped out and came forward. 

" ' Min entum ? ' (Who are you ?) was the first ques- 
tion. 

" ' Roala min Ibn Debaa.' 'Wallah?' (Will you 
swear by God?) ' Wallah 1 ' (We swear). 

'"And yon?' 'Mohammed ibn Aruk of Tud- 
mur.' 

" ' Wallah ? ' ' Wallah ! ' ' And these are Fran j is 



284 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

travelling with you ? ' ' Wallah ! Franjis, friends 
of Ibn Shaalan.' 

" It was all right ; we had fallen into the hands of 
friends. Ibn Shaalan, our host of last year, was 
bound to protect us, even so far away in the desert, 
and none of his people dared meddle with us, knoM^ing 
this. Besides, Mohammed was a Tudmuri, and as 
such could not be molested by Eoala, for Tudmur 
pays tribute to Ibn Shaalan, and the Tudmuris have 
a right to his protection. So as soon as the circum- 
stances were made clear orders were given by the 
chief of the party to his followers to bring back our 
mares, and the gun, and everything which had been 
dropped in the scuffle. Even to "Wilfrid's tobacco- 
bag, all was restored." 

The robbers and the travellers fraternized after 
the affair was over, and the former were very much 
ashamed of themselves for having used their spears 
against a woman. Lady Blunt apologizes for them, 
however, as the Bedouin dress she wore for riding 
prevented them distinguishing her sex in the confu- 
sion of the sudden attack. 

Two days after the encounter in the desert the 
party arrived at Jof, where they spent three days, 
and found the people very hospitable. Their chief 
servant and camel-driver, Mohammed, was an Arab, 
who had distant connections in this part of Arabia ; 
and as tribal kinship, no matter how remote, is re- 
garded as a matter of great importance, this rela- 
tionship was of material aid in securing them the 
good-will, of the inhabitants. The Blunts were less 
favorably impressed with Jof than was Palgrave, 



LADY BLUNT 'S PILGRIMAGE 285 

who, however, uses the term " Djowf " in a broader 
sense, as including a number of oases situated in "a 
large oval depression of sixty or seventy miles long 
by ten or twelve broad, lying between the northern 
desert that separates it from Syria and the Euphrates, 
and the southern Nefood, or sandy waste, and inter- 
posed between it and the nearest mountains of the 
Central Arabian plateau." 

Lady Blunt writes of it: " Jof is not at all what we 
expected. "We thought we should find it a large cul- 
tivated district, and it turns out to be merely a small 
town. There is nothing at all outside the walls ex- 
cept a few square patches, half an acre or so each, 
green with young corn," etc. 

How true is it that no two travellers see things 
with the same eyes. Doubtless both these distin- 
guished travellers are reasonably correct in their de- 
scriptions, but summed up their impressions from 
opposite stand-points in a topographical sense ; a 
common enough mistake in Asia, where the name of 
a place often indicates, equally accurately, a large scope 
of country and the central spot in it. In Central 
Asia, for example, there is Merv, which is the name 
of a cit}', and also of the large fertile oasis in which 
it is situated ; also Herat, meaning a broad area of 
oases, with a population of probably half a million 
people, in which the fortress-city Herat stands, no 
less than the city itself. 

Important political changes had taken place since 
Palgrave's visit. The rule of the Wahabees had 
been overthrown in Jof, and the only representatives 
of staple authority found there were a Sheykh and 



286 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

six soldiers, who represented the authority of Mo- 
hammed ibn Kashid, Emir of Jebel Shammar, with 
his seat of government at Hail. 

From Jof the travellers proceeded toward Hail, 
crossing the dreaded Nefood, of which they give a 
very interesting, and far less gloomy, account than 
did Palgrave. They, however, crossed it in January, 
while Palgrave crossed it in midsummer; so that, 
in the case of the Nefood, as with Jof, the appar- 
ently conflicting accounts are doubtless both fairly 
accurate, the one describing the desert in winter, the 
other in summer. On January 12th, the ti-avellers 
found themselves on the edge of the desert. 

" At half -past three o'clock we saw a red streak 
on the horizon before us, which rose and gathered as 
we approached it, stretching out east and west in an 
unbroken line. It might at first have been taken for 
an effect of mirage, but on coming nearer we found 
it broken into billows, and but for its red color not 
unlike a stormy sea seen from the shore, for it rose 
up, as the sea seems to rise, when the waves are high, 
above the level of the land. Somebody called out 
' Nefiid,' and though for a while we were incredulous, 
we were soon convinced. What surprised us was its 
color, that of rhubarb and magnesia, nothing at all 
like what we had expected. Yet the I^efud it was, 
the great red desert of Central Arabia. In a few 
minutes we had cantered up to it, and our mares 
were standing with their feet in its first waves. 

" January 13th. — We have been all day in the ISTe- 
fiid, which is interesting beyond our hopes, and 
charming into the bargain." After taking issue with 



LADT BLUNT '8 PILORIMAGE 287 

Mr. Palgrave, who, Ladj Blunt thinks, overlooked 
its brighter side, the narrator continues her own ob- 
servations thus : 

" The thing that strikes one first about the Kefud 
is its color. It is not white like the sand dunes we 
passed yesterday, nor yellow as the sand is in parts 
of the Egyptian desert, but a really bright red, al- 
most crimson in the morning, when it is wet with 
dew. The sand is rather coarse, but absolutely pure, 
without admixture of any foreign substance, pebble, 
grit, or earth, and exactly the same in tint and text- 
ure everywhere. It is, however, a great mistake to 
suppose it barren. The Kefud, on the contrary, is 
better wooded and richer in pasture than any part of 
the desert we have passed since leaving Damascus. 
It is tufted all over with ghada bushes, and bushes of 
another kind called yerta^ which at this time of the 
year, when there are no leaves, is exactly like a 
thickly matted vine. 

" There are, besides, several kinds of camel past- 
ure, especially one new to us, called adr, on which 
they say sheep can feed for a month without wanting 
water, and more than one kind of grass. Both cam- 
els and mares are therefore pleased with the place, 
and we are delighted with the abundance of firewood 
for our camps. Wilfrid says that the Kefud has 
solved for him at last the mystery of horse-breeding 
in Central Arabia. In the hard desert there is noth- 
ing a horse can eat, but hei'e there is plenty. The 
I^efud accounts for everj^thing. Instead of being the 
terrible place it has been described by the few travel- 
lers who have seen it, it is in reality the home of the 



^88 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Bedouins dniing a great part of the year. Its only 
want is water, for it contains but few wells; all along 
the edge it is thickly inhabited, and Radi tells ns 
that in the spring, when the grass is green after rain, 
the Bedouins care nothing for water, as their camels 
are in milk, and they go for weeks without it, wan- 
dering far into the interior of the sand desert." 

In the desert of sand the travellers found many 
curious hollows, which the native guide called fulj. 
Some of these holes were a quarter of a mile in di- 
ameter, and as much as 230 feet deep. They were 
chiefly of horse-hoof shape. They took observations, 
and at one point on the desert found the elevation to 
be 3,300 feet above sea-level. After seven days in 
the ifTefud, the last two of which tried the endurance 
of men and beasts, the party reached the oasis of 
Jobba, which is described as being one of the most 
curious, as also most beautiful, places in the world. 

" Its name Jobba, meaning a well, explains its po- 
sition, for it lies in a hole or well in the Nefiid ; not in- 
deed in a fulj, for the basin of Jobba is quite on an- 
other scale, and has nothing in common with the 
horse-hoof depressions I have hitherto described. It 
is, all the same, extremely singular, and quite as dif- 
ficult to account for geologically as the fuljes. It is 
a great bare space in the ocean of sand, from four to 
five hundred feet below its average level, and about 
three miles wide ; a hollow, in fact, not unlike that 
of Jof, but with the Nefud round it instead of sand- 
stone cliffs. That it has once been a lake is pretty 
evident, for there are distinct water marks on the 
rocks, which crop up out of the bed just above the 



LADY BLUNT 'S PLLGRIMAOE 289 

town ; and, strange to saj, there is a tradition still ex- 
tant of there having been forinerlj water there. The 
wonder is how this space is kept clear of sand. What 
force is it that walls out the NefM and prevents en- 
croachments ? As yon look across the subbkha, or 
dry bed of the lake, the NefM seems like a wall of 
water which must overwhelm it ; and yet no sand 
shifts down into the hollow, and its limits are accu- 
rately maintained." 

At length the Kefiid was overcome and the trav- 
ellers approached Hail, not without apprehensions 
as to the reception that might await them. Their 
guide from Jof enlightened them in regard to many 
changes that had occurred since Palgrave's visit, 
changes that will be equally interesting to readers 
who have followed Palgrave's narrative in preceding 
chapters. 

Telal, then despotic ruler at Hail (Ha'yel), had gone 
insane and committed suicide by stabbing himself with 
his own dagger four years after Palgrave's visit. He 
was succeeded bj' his brother Metaab, who, however, 
died suddenly after reigning three years ; when a 
dispute arose between his brother Mohammed and 
Telal's oldest son, Bender, about the succession. Mo- 
hammed being away at the time, Bender, a youth of 
twenty, was proclaimed Emir. Mohammed returned, 
and in a violent quarrel with his nephew drew his 
dagger and stabbed him to death. 

" Then Mohammed galloped back to the castle, and 
finding Haraiid (son of Obeyd, uncle of Telal) there, 
got his help and took possession of the palace. He 
then seized the younger sons of Tellal (Palgrave's 



290 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Tela]), Bender's brothers, all but one child, Naif, and 
Bedr, who was away from Hail, and had their heads 
cut off bj his slaves in the court-yard of the castle. 
They say, however, that Hamud protested against 
this. But Mohammed was reckless, or wished to 
strike terror, and not satisfied with what he had al- 
ready done, went on destroying his relations. 

" He had some cousins, sons of Jabar, a younger 
brother of Abdallah and Obeyd ; and these he sent for. 
They came in some alarm to the castle, each with his 
slave. They were all young men, beautiful to look 
at, and of the highest distinction; and their slaves 
had been brought up with them, as the custom is, 
more like brothers than servants. They were shown 
into the kahwah of the castle, and received with great 
formality, Mohammed's servants coming forward to 
invite them in. It is the custom at Hail, whenever 
a person pays a visit, that before sitting down he 
should hang up his sword on one of the wooden pegs 
fixed into the wall, and this the sons of Jabar did, and 
their slaves likewise. Then they sat down and waited 
and waited, but still no cofi'ee was served to them. At 
last Mohammed appeared, surrounded by his guard, 
but there was no ' salaam aleykum,' and instantly he 
gave orders that his cousins should be seized and 
bound. They made a rush for their swords, but were 
intercepted by the slaves of the castle and made pris- 
oners. Mohammed then, with horrible barbarity, 
ordered their hands and their feet to be cut off, and 
the hands and feet of their slaves, and had them, still 
living, dragged out into the court-yard of the palace, 
where they lay till they died. 



LADY BLVNT'8 PILORIMAGE 291 

"These gliastlj crimes, more ghastly than ever in 
a country where wilful bloodshed is so unusual, seem 
to have struck terror far and wide, and no one has 
since dared to raise a hand against Mohammed." 

The knowledge of tliese terrible doings naturally 
made the travellers feel that they were venturing 
into dangerous quarters as they rode up to the gates 
of Hail. The Emir, whose title was Mohammed-ibn- 
Rashid (Mohammed, son of Rasliid), however, re- 
ceived them kindly ; and it was discovered that, apart 
from the bloody work of the succession, he had turned 
out to be not a bad ruler. In any part of his domin- 
ions, it was understood that a person might travel 
unarmed, and with any amount of gold on him, with- 
out fear of molestation. Moreover, he seemed to 
have been deeply stricken with remorse for his past 
misdeeds, lived in constant fear of assassination, and 
was endeavoring to make what amends he could by 
lavishing honors and kindness on the youth Naif, the 
only one of his nephews he had spared — for Bedr, 
too, had been executed. 

It all reads much like a tale from the " Arabian 
JSTights;" and that Arabia is still the land of romance 
and poetry is confirmed by a curious bit of news 
learned of Obeyd, about whom it will be remembered 
Mr. Palgrave had also a good deal to say. 

" He (Obeyd) lived to a great age, and died only 
nine years ago [i.e., 1869). It is related of him that 
he left no property behind him, having given away 
everything during his lifetime — no property but his 
sword, his mare, and his young wife. These he left 
to his nephew Mohammed-ibn-Rashid, the reigning 



292 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

Emir, with the request that his sword should remain 
undrawn, his mare unridden, and his wife unmarried 
forever after." 

Tlie travellers give an interesting account of the 
Emir's horses, the most famous stud in Nejd. 

Though interested, thej were, on the whole, disap- 
pointed with the horses of Nejd as compared with 
those of J^orthern Arabia. " In comparing what we 
see here with what we saw last year in the north, the 
first thing that strikes us is that these are ponies, the 
others horses. It is not so much the actual difference 
in height, though there must be quite three inches on 
an average, as the shape, which produces this impres- 
sion." 

The average height was found to be under fourteen 
hands ; and though great care was taken to obtain 
and preserve pure strains of blood, in the matter of 
feeding and grooming, gross negligence seemed to be 
the rule, even in the royal stud. The stables were 
mere open yards, in which the animals stood, each 
tethered to a manger. No shelter M'as provided, but 
each horse was protected by a heavy rug. They 
wore no headstalls, being fastened solely with ropes 
or chains about the fetlocks. No regular exercise 
was given them, their food was almost exclusively 
di-y barley, and their appearance generally was far 
different from what Europeans would naturally ex- 
pect of the finest stable of horses in the " horse 
peninsula." 

The travellers also enlighten us, on the subject of 
horses, in other directions. Except in the north, 
horses were found to be exceedingly rare. It is pos- 



LADY BLUNT 'S PILGRIMAGE 293 

sible to travel vast distances without meeting a single 
liorse, or even crossing a horse-track ; on the M^hole 
journey across the Kefud, and on to the Euphrates, 
tliey scarcely saw a horse, apart from the stables of 
tlie rich and great in the cities. The horse is a lux- 
ury to be afforded only by people of wealth or posi- 
tion. Journeys and raids and wars are all made on 
camels ; the Sheykhs who have horses, when going 
to war save them to mount at the moment of actual 
engagement with the enemy. It was considered a 
great boast by a ]^ejd tribe of Bedouins that they 
could mount one hundred horsemen ; while the Mu- 
teyr tribe, reputed to be the greatest breeders of thor- 
oughbred stock in Central Arabia, would be expected 
to muster not more than four hundred mares. 

Mohammed - ibn - Rashid recruited his stables by 
compelling the Sheykhs of tributary tribes to sell 
him their best animals, an improvement on some of 
his predecessors, who kept their studs up to the 
proper mark becoming Arab royalty by making raids 
against the tribes for the purpose of bringing in cele- 
brated mares, waiving the matter of payment. 

In the spring the horses of the Emir's stables are 
distributed among the neighboring Bedouins to be 
pastured on the Nefud, which at that period affords 
excellent grazing. Had the visitors seen the herd 
after a month on the ISTef ud, they would likely have 
carried away a much more favorable impression. 
During the winter quartering the colts seemed to 
fare even worse than their dams and sires, from the 
following : 

" Besides the full-grown animals, Ibn Rashid's 



294 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

yards contain thirty or forty foals and yearlings, 
beautiful little creatures, but terribly starved and 
miserable. Foals bred in the desert are poor enough, 
but those in town have a positively sickly appearance. 
Tied all day long by the foot, they seem to have quite 
lost heart, and show none of the playfulness of their 
age. Their tameness, like that of the ' fowl and the 
bi'ute,' is shocking to see." 

The contrast between the actual treatment of these 
royal animals and the following Ai-ab recipe for rear- 
ing a colt is sufficiently striking : 

"During the jfirst month of his life let him be con- 
tent with his mother's milk; it will be sufficient for 
him. Then, during five months, add to this natural 
supply goats' milk, as much as he will drink. For 
six months more give him the milk of camels, and 
besides a measure of wheat steeped in water for a 
quarter of an hour and served in a nose-bag. At a 
year old the colt will have done with milk ; he must 
be fed on wheat and grass, the wheat dry from a 
nose-bag, the grass green, if there is any. 

" At two years old he must work or he will be 
worthless. Feed him now, like a full-grown horse, 
on barley ; but in summer let him also have gruel 
daily at mid-day. Make the gruel thus : Take a 
double-handful of flour and mix it in water well with 
your hands till the water seems like milk, then strain 
it, leaving the dregs of the flour, and give what is 
liquid to the colt to drink. 

"Be careful, from the hour he is born, to let him 
stand in the sun ; shade hurts horses ; but let him 
have water in plenty when the day is hot. The colt 



LADY BLUNT' 8 PILGRIMAGE 295 

must now be mounted and taken bj his owner every- 
where with him, so that he shall see everything and 
learn courage. He must be kept constantly in exer- 
cise, and never remain long at his manger. He 
should be taken on a journey, for the work will 
fortify his limbs. At three years old he should be 
trained to gallop ; then, if he be true blood, he will 
not be left behind. Yalla ! " 

Lady Blunt thinks this represents a traditional 
practice of rearing colts in Arabia since the days of 
the Prophet Mohammet. 

From Hail, the party joined the Haj, or caravan 
of Persian pilgrims, returning home from Mecca 
and Medina ; and after eighty-four days' travel from 
Damascus their Arabian journey came to an end 
at Bagdad. Their route from Hail took them far 
north of Palgrave's route, so that they did not visit 
Ri'ad, the headquarters, in Palgrave's time, of the 
Wahabee ruler Feysul. Lady Blunt, however, in 
an appendix to her narrative enlightens us in re- 
gard to the end of Feysul, and the continued de- 
cline of the Wahabee regime after the visit of 
Palgrave. 

Three years after Palgrave's visit Feysul died, 
and the Wahabee state, which under him had re- 
gained much of its power and influence (which had 
been all but crushed by the Turks after the Crimean 
war) was again weakened by internal dissensions. 
Feysul left two sons, Abdallah and Saoud, who quar- 
relled and put themselves at the head of their respec- 
tive adherents. Saoud proved himself the stronger 
party, and in 1871 Abdallah fled to Jebel Sham- 



296 TRAVELS IN ARABIA 

mar and sought the aid of Midhat Pasha, Turkish 
governor at Bagdad. 

The result was that a Turkish expedition of 5,000 
regular troops occupied the seaboard territory of 
Ilasa, and took possession of Hofhoof (mentioned by 
Palgrave) ; whilst Abdallah and his adherents, and a 
third rival, Abdallah-ibn-Turki, attacked Saoud at 
Ri'ad. Saoud was defeated, and Abdallah essayed to 
govern at Ri'ad ; but in the following year he was 
again ejected by Saoud who reigned till 1874, when 
he died, not without suspicion of poison. 

Lady Blunt's account of affairs at the Wahabee 
capital ends with the information that Abdallah and 
a half-brother, Abderrahman, were in joint and ami- 
cable control, Abdallah as Emir, the latter as his 
chief minister. Hasa and the seaboard was held by 
the Turks, whose policy was the stirring up of sti-ife 
and feudal enmity among the Arabs, with a view to 
weakening the power and authority of the Emir at 
lli'ad, and so making the country easy prey whenever 
opportunity arrives for its incorporation in the Otto- 
man dominions. The power and fanaticism of the 
once powerful Wahabee Empire, has become but lit- 
tle more than a name and a remembrance among the 
Bedouin tribes, who once paid tribute to its Emirs ; 
and whatever was national in thought and respecta- 
ble in inspiration in Central Arabia seemed to be 
grouping itself around the new dynasty of the Emir 
of Jebel Shammar, Mohammed-ibn-Rashid of Hail. 

THE END. 



